Video Games: 'Does Not Open From This Side' Edition

[Werthead]

Lots of stuff on Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. It's still a fair ways from release though.

[Jace, Extat]

12 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Lots of stuff on Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord. It's still a fair ways from release though.

I never got around to playing that. Is playing as a Lady an option?

[Werthead]

Ooooh. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided looks superb.

[briantw]

1 hour ago, Czarlos Valderrama said:

The multiplayer developer has mostly done Halo and CoD stuff over the years.

Doesn't surprise me at all.  It's pretty clear that Doom is trying to leech off that Halo/CoD crowd.  It won't work, though.  No one is going to stop playing Halo or CoD for a crappy knock off, and that's what the Doom beta felt like.  It's trying so hard to be something it's not when it should have embraced its arena shooter roots, especially given how long its been since we've gotten a great arena shooter.

[KiDisaster]

I killed him! I killed the goddamn bastard. Took me three straight nights of attempts but I finally got him. Holy shit that fight is something else. By far the hardest fight in DS3 (haven't done the final boss yet though so maybe I'm saying that prematurely). Maybe the hardest fight in any Souls game. Duking it out with Artorias in that regard. 

ETA: Nameless King by the way

[Jack Bauer 24]

15 minutes ago, KiDisaster said:

I killed him! I killed the goddamn bastard. Took me three straight nights of attempts but I finally got him. Holy shit that fight is something else. By far the hardest fight in DS3 (haven't done the final boss yet though so maybe I'm saying that prematurely). Maybe the hardest fight in any Souls game. Duking it out with Artorias in that regard. 

ETA: Nameless King by the way

Really? I beat Nameless King on my first try, but it took me three straight days to beat Aldrich. Definitely the hardest boss for me in the game. Beat the final boss on my second attempt.

[Corvinus85]

5 hours ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

I never got around to playing that. Is playing as a Lady an option?

Yes, and you will be faced with some prejudice from some of the characters. But I don't know how much, never tried it.

[Jace, Extat]

Just now, Corvinus said:

Yes, and you will be faced with some prejudice from some of the characters. But I don't know how much, never tried it.

Oohh! That sounds fun!

[HairBearHero]

Recently got around to playing XCOM: EU and bloody love it. Began on Easy but have subsequently completed the campaign on every difficulty except Impossible and it scales the challenges very nicely. There's a surprising amount of depth once a single alien can kill one of your guys in a single shot.

Is getting Enemy Within worth it? 

[Corvinus85]

This latest battle video for TW: Warhammer has me feeling more optimistic about the game. And due to fan pressure, CA announced that the Chaos faction will be available to anyone who buys the game in the first week. Baby steps.

@Pony Queen Jace this game might not be so bad.

[Werthead]

4 hours ago, HairBearHero said:

Recently got around to playing XCOM: EU and bloody love it. Began on Easy but have subsequently completed the campaign on every difficulty except Impossible and it scales the challenges very nicely. There's a surprising amount of depth once a single alien can kill one of your guys in a single shot.

Is getting Enemy Within worth it? 

Yes. Enemy Within has some stuff which feels a bit gimmicky (I never bother with the gene-mods, but the MECs can be fun) but it's worth it for just throwing in the EXALT curveball, the base defence mission, a lot more maps and bringing a lot more to the table. I do advise playing EU first, but since you've done that already you should be good for it.

EU+EW is good progression before tackling XCOM 2, which is also very fine (although, I would argue, not quite as richly compelling as the first game).

[KiDisaster]

Finished Dark Souls 3 last night. I think I was on my 4th or 5th "last try before bed" on the final boss when I finally got him

Final boss spoilery stuff: 

When the piano theme kicked in at the start of the second phase and he started using Gwyn's move set I damn near lost my shit. So cool. Fan servicey as hell but the whole game was really.

Really fantastic game overall. The sequel DS2 should have been and a great send off for the series. Now to decide if I wanna do a NG+ or just roll a new character for a STR/FAI build. After I finally play some of this new Hearthstone expansion though. 

[HairBearHero]

14 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Yes. Enemy Within has some stuff which feels a bit gimmicky (I never bother with the gene-mods, but the MECs can be fun) but it's worth it for just throwing in the EXALT curveball, the base defence mission, a lot more maps and bringing a lot more to the table. I do advise playing EU first, but since you've done that already you should be good for it.

EU+EW is good progression before tackling XCOM 2, which is also very fine (although, I would argue, not quite as richly compelling as the first game).

Hang on, I thought Enemy Within WAS XCOM-2? Is it just an expansion pack?

[Werthead]

22 minutes ago, HairBearHero said:

Hang on, I thought Enemy Within WAS XCOM-2? Is it just an expansion pack?

Enemy Within is an expansion for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. XCOM 2 is a completely different game.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

38 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Yes. Enemy Within has some stuff which feels a bit gimmicky (I never bother with the gene-mods, but the MECs can be fun) but it's worth it for just throwing in the EXALT curveball, the base defence mission, a lot more maps and bringing a lot more to the table. I do advise playing EU first, but since you've done that already you should be good for it.

EU+EW is good progression before tackling XCOM 2, which is also very fine (although, I would argue, not quite as richly compelling as the first game).

I think I might prefer Xcom2.. although I'm not sure why, as its in many ways a bit of a re-tread of the previous games. 

I think its more the increased difficulty level and the advanced customisation options.

[Sullen]

11 hours ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Oohh! That sounds fun!

The difference is not that noted, sadly.

You get a buttload of achievements from playing as a woman, and essentially make an unmarried Lord completely loyal to you by marrying him, as well as getting a few different first encounter dialogues with other lords that can lead to a few outcomes (fight, duel, extra prestige, hurt/improved relations), but that's about it.

On the other hand, you also have to deal with requiring more renown to get things your way, having to deal with sexist lords here and there that will refuse to follow you due to your gender, and will pretty much miss out on the whole courting aspect of the game. You also get a +1 in Agility and Intelligence instead of Strength and Charisma, which are arguably better stats.

I'd say it's harder to play a woman character as a beginner, but if you're experienced with the game, the whole marriage thing makes the late game considerably easier. 

[Jace, Extat]

Sounds more challenging, which is cool.

[MerenthaClone]

16 hours ago, briantw said:

Doesn't surprise me at all.  It's pretty clear that Doom is trying to leech off that Halo/CoD crowd.  It won't work, though.  No one is going to stop playing Halo or CoD for a crappy knock off, and that's what the Doom beta felt like.  It's trying so hard to be something it's not when it should have embraced its arena shooter roots, especially given how long its been since we've gotten a great arena shooter.

There's a reason we haven't gotten it, and its due to the rise of consoles.  UT, Quake, Tribes, etc were both insanely fast-paced games that I don't think could be played on a console at all.  You're flipping around at stupidly fast speeds trying to target similarly fast-moving enemies, often moving in three dimensions, with (typically) very slow-moving projectiles that require a decent amount of leadtime.  It'd be insane with thumbsticks: this is the same limitation that lead to the rise of cover-based shooters because moving and shooting at the same time was too punishingly hard for most people.   Titanfall tried in some ways, but even then it was very, very slow compared to Tribes/Quake/UT.

If you want arena shooters, you're going to have to look at at PC-only titles, I'm afraid, and they're not going to have too much of an audience.  

[Jasta11]

2 hours ago, Channel4s-JonSnow said:

I think I might prefer Xcom2.. although I'm not sure why, as its in many ways a bit of a re-tread of the previous games. 

I think its more the increased difficulty level and the advanced customisation options.

 

I also prefered XCOM 2. That game has so much more options when it comes to customization and battlefield tools. You can really make your squad your own, and devise strategies based around your loadout. I ran as many Rangers and Psi Ops as I could afford; nothing can stand up to mass Rapid Fire, and once they are fully trained Psis are just overpowered. Very fun stuff. 

Also, since CA/SEGA have relented on making Chaos pre-order exclusive, I just might buy Warhammer TW after all. There is a lot of communication about the game, far more than CA did with Rome 2, and it looks like a genuinly promising title. I liked Attila a lot, this might be even better.

[Channel4s-JonSnow]

I'd love to get total war hammer , it really takes me back to my youth! It's maybe the reason I have bought all the total war games up until this point.

 

However Rome 2 and its million add ons have given me a bit of burn out for the genre. I feel like the games are all essentially the same but with different graphics and ever so slightly different mechanics