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

[Jace, Extat]

8 minutes ago, KiDisaster said:

So I pick up Uncharted 4 on my way home from work, pop the disk in the PS4 to get it installed and patched and whatnot before I go out for dinner so it'll be all ready to play when I get home. Everything's working as normal. 

Get home from dinner, try to turn the system on annnnnd...blue light of death. Awesome timing. I had a launch edition Xbox 360 that never had any issues whatsoever in the 6 or 7 years I owned it so I guess my console luck had to run out sometime. I wish this shit had happened before I opened the game so I could at least return it and get my $60 back. 

Now I can either pay Sony $150 to repair it and wait a few weeks or just spend $300 and get a new one. Or maybe I won't bother and just skip the rest of this console generation. I already sold my Xbone. 

Tough luck, Broseph Stalin. If Battlefield 1 doesn't look/sound/be totally amazing, I'm probably gonna get rid of my Xbone. No sense having 2 of the damn things when I only turned mine on for the first time this year because I found out Parks and Rec had a 7th season and was too drunk to get out of bed.

[Caligula_K3]

Sorry to hear that, Kidisaster. That really sucks.

Stellaris: My first playthrough as Fanatical Materialist Individualist Space Squids may not have gone well, but my second as Fanatical Xenophobic Collectivist Space Mushrooms seems to be progressing a lot better. The game's systems were overwhelming at first, but Paradox did a great job with the tutorial system, especially compared to EU4- I jumped into the second game without needing many reminders about anything. Looking forward to declaring my first war against the Pacifist Space Birds next time I play.

[Andriy Czarchenko]

I don´t think you´re really meant to "succeed" the first time you play Stellaris. The tutorial is good for learning the basics in couple hours but after you´re comfortable with UI and met couple AI empires it´s probably good time to restart anyway as you´re likely lagging way behind by that point.

[briantw]

24 minutes ago, Czarlos Valderrama said:

I don´t think you´re really meant to "succeed" the first time you play Stellaris. The tutorial is good for learning the basics in couple hours but after you´re comfortable with UI and met couple AI empires it´s probably good time to restart anyway as you´re likely lagging way behind by that point.

I set that stat for advanced AI empires (where some AI starts out with better tech than you) to zero on my second start since it seems like a bad idea when you are still learning the ropes.

[Caligula_K3]

6 hours ago, briantw said:

I set that stat for advanced AI empires (where some AI starts out with better tech than you) to zero on my second start since it seems like a bad idea when you are still learning the ropes.

Ya, I think being unlucky enough to be right next to one of these is what did me in. I put that to 0 on my second game.

Czarlos: Ya, fair enough. I was just surprised it was a lot less forgiving than EU4 was- my first play-through of that game I had no idea what I was doing for the first half, but could still survive. Especially since I had heard that the AI in Stellaris is pretty passive. Whoops. Starting over has definitely been good, and I'm enjoying this game a lot.

[Lyanna Stark]

On 2016-05-09 at 8:24 PM, Turinqui-Calima said:

Re Overwatch

 

I'm really impressed with the different classes. The first few matches my husband and I both played pretty much the same obvious characters (Bastion/Soldier 76) the same way, but after having played this weekend we've both developed fondness for specific classes that we play well. I'm playing a lot of D-Va and Symmetra. 

I do agree that one thing that is really lacking right now is team communication. Even something like team composition seem a bit off, at least on PS4. It's quite often that I've started a game and seen four players pick offensive characters directly. I try to adjust who I play, but I have to admit I have not done any speaking so far (except for with my husband who is right next to me). I'm not sure if I will start using the mic unless I'm with a team of friends though, as being the one person speaking can get really annoying.

As for the Alt move, I don't agree at all that it's automatic 'win'. Some of the moves might be automatic kills, but used in the wrong place or at the wrong time it can be fairly useless. I know I've had games where I've felt my teleporter as Symmtra has 'won' a game - but I've also had games where I've panicked and put it down in a place where enemies found it fairly quickly. I think it's just another aspect of skill.

That said, I haven't played TF2 and don't think I'm particularly good at these games. I actually think it's more fun if it's possible for different skill levels to play and use teamwork to win.

My SO and I also played Overwatch together and it was hysterical. I hadn't planned on playing the Beta, but once I got into it, it felt amazing.

Granted, we only played against AI since we started the Beta only the last two days or so, and you had to live through some pretty lame double or triple Bastion/double Bastion+Torbjörn teams who just turreted and wanted to get POTG. That said, the most fun I had was playing Lucio, or maybe Pharah and/or Roadhog (dat chain + faceshot combo). Lucio never ever gets POTG, but it didn't matter to me since he's awesome fun, nice support and amazing mobility. Never tried Symmetra, Mercy, Genji, Winston or Mei since I simply ran out of time. Tracer and Hanzo I avoided since my aim is just not good enough to do them justice.

I agree that it's great for different skill levels. I am pretty bad at aiming since I have not played FPS games for a long, long time, and when I did the lag was such that you basically used weapons with AOE effects or you suffered.

That people die to ultimates, well it's going to happen, but a lot of them you can avoid with LOS or just moving the hell away. It seems to be more of a skill thing, knowing the maps and when/how to flank. I failed at that a lot in the beginning, even managed to murder myself as Rheinhardt just charging in whacking stuff and getting mullered. Also agree that if you pop it at the wrong time/place they are basically useless, and I did that lots of times.

I hope they use some sort of matching system on release so filthy casuals like me can play with and against other filthy casuals. and not against leet pre-mades.

 

[Myrddin]

I don't many of you play, but news broke last night that Disney Infinity is done. They've laid off the 300+ employees of Avalanche and no more figures or playsets are forthcoming (after the Alice and Dory releases).

I really enjoyed this game, even though it is a money sink. Sad to see it go.

[Jack Bauer 24]

Any early impressions on U4? Thinking about picking it up today. I still have an unopened copy of Fallout 4 that I bought back at launch in November, but I'm just going to hold off on that until the console mod support comes out soon.

[Fez]

I ended up finishing off The Banner Saga 2 last night. Fantastic game. Until the very end, which provided even less resolution than the first game did (and makes me fully understand why reviewers said the game clearly suffered from being the middle of the trilogy), and the final battle was even more annoying than the one at the end of the first game.

 

 

Trying to get that lightning to strike Bolverk was a long, boring exercise in futility. I ended up losing, not because I had no choice, but because I was just so bored of literally running in circles. Fortunately, apparently the ending is exactly the same regardless of the fight's outcome.

The last sequence of fights that Alette/Rook is involved with is far more satisfyingly hard

 

I don't know if I'll play again, I think most of the joy of the game is seeing the story play out that first time (I never played the first game a second time either), but I am curious if anyone knows how different the game is depending on whether you go with Alette or Rook. I had Alette and was very satisfied.

 

Also, Stellaris is still amazing.

 

And in more amazing news, Civilization 6 is coming October 21! And apparently they are trying to keep all the systems in place from post-BTS Civ5, which would be nice; I'd rather not have to wait for multiple expansions before the game is complex enough for me. And they are making two very big changes: 1) Cities will now be multi-tile, and you'll have to decide what goes into what tiles; and 2) They are changing the research system around so that you'll get major bonuses for researching techs that would be relevant to your civilization based on in-game variables; with the goal of there no longer being a single optimal path of research for every game.

 

[Turinqui-Calima]

In case anyone missed it, Civ VI was revealed today. I haven't had a chance to look at it much, but first impression is that it is very nice looking, but that the changes aren't huge...

http://www.pcgamer.com/civilization-6-everything-you-need-to-know/

[Werthead]

I still think of Civ IV as a new game and, although I own it, have never even fired up Civ V. I was rather startled to see that IV is eleven years old and even V is six years old.

My own fault. Every time I think, "Let's play some Civ" the one I load up is always Civ II.

Quote

I don't know if I'll play again, I think most of the joy of the game is seeing the story play out that first time (I never played the first game a second time either), but I am curious if anyone knows how different the game is depending on whether you go with Alette or Rook. I had Alette and was very satisfied.

I went with Rook because it felt more thematically appropriate (dad dying and his daughter carrying on the family torch was a little bit too cliche for me) and it also allowed the romance with Oddleif to play out. If you go with Alette, it is quite tricky to keep her would-be love interest alive for the first game, let alone both of them.

[Jack Bauer 24]

http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/uncharted-4-a-thiefs-end

"It’s in a class of its own. It’s the most fun I’ve had with a video game since Super Mario World. It’s an absolute treasure that combines action and story in a beautiful concert that I never wanted to end. It’s one of the rare games that years from now I know I will remember exactly where I was when the credits rolled and I said goodbye to Nathan Drake, one of the most prolific video game characters of all time. Bravo Naughty Dog, bravo."

Ok I'm in! 

[Fez]

1 hour ago, Werthead said:

I went with Rook because it felt more thematically appropriate (dad dying and his daughter carrying on the family torch was a little bit too cliche for me) and it also allowed the romance with Oddleif to play out. If you go with Alette, it is quite tricky to keep her would-be love interest alive for the first game, let alone both of them.

I didn't even realize Alette had a love interest from the first game. There was a part she thinks back to some boy from her village, but I didn't recognize the name and must've completely forgotten that he was a playable character in the first game.

I went with Alette because the way things play out in the first game, I just couldn't picture a scenario where Rook would let his daughter get into such harm's way. 

[MerenthaClone]

There are way too many good games coming out.  I'm still making my way through Dark Souls 3, I have Banner Saga 2 to play, Stellaris to buy, Witcher 3 and the DLCs to finish (I put the game on hold a while back), Total Warhammer to play, Overwatch to look at, and I'm sure there's a ton more I'm forgetting too.  Goddamn its a nice problem to have.  

e:  And I'm still in the middle of a Pillars of Eternity replay!  Aaah.  

[briantw]

21 minutes ago, Fez said:

I didn't even realize Alette had a love interest from the first game.

I assume it's that guy you get an achievement for keeping alive?  He died in my game so I didn't get that cheevo.

[GallowKnight]

2 minutes ago, briantw said:

I assume it's that guy you get an achievement for keeping alive?  He died in my game so I didn't get that cheevo.

Egil, I think? Blonde kid with an iron shield.

[briantw]

Just now, The_Gallows_Knight said:

Egil, I think? Blonde kid with an iron shield.

That's the one.  Apparently he's the easiest character to kill off in the game.  There are quite a few different places he can die if you don't make all the perfect choices.

It didn't end up mattering for me though since I chose Rook to live at the end of the game anyway since I felt he was more valuable and versatile in fights than Alette was.  Kind of a heartless way to choose, I know, but I knew I had two more of these games coming.  I wanted the character who could kick the most ass.

[Fez]

6 minutes ago, briantw said:

That's the one.  Apparently he's the easiest character to kill off in the game.  There are quite a few different places he can die if you don't make all the perfect choices.

It didn't end up mattering for me though since I chose Rook to live at the end of the game anyway since I felt he was more valuable and versatile in fights than Alette was.  Kind of a heartless way to choose, I know, but I knew I had two more of these games coming.  I wanted the character who could kick the most ass.

Ah. Yeah, he's super-dead in my playthrough.

I never used Alette much in the first game either. But in the second game, does Rook have the Overwatch ability? Because Alette does, and it is so incredibly overpowered, its amazing. 

[briantw]

3 minutes ago, Fez said:

Ah. Yeah, he's super-dead in my playthrough.

I never used Alette much in the first game either. But in the second game, does Rook have the Overwatch ability? Because Alette does, and it is so incredibly overpowered, its amazing. 

I don't even remember what Rook's new ability was in game two.  His Mark Prey ability was pretty awesome, though.  What does Overwatch do?

[Fez]

1 minute ago, briantw said:

I don't even remember what Rook's new ability was in game two.  His Mark Prey ability was pretty awesome, though.  What does Overwatch do?

She does a strength attack against every enemy that moves in her range until her next turn. I park her behind a Varl or other frontliner and she'll regularly get off 3-4 attacks each time I activate it. 

She also has the option of learning Mend later in the game. I didn't use it often, because Overwatch is so great, but there a few times that was super useful.