Video Games: May the force of your wallet be with you

[Kalbear]

I think people are underestimating how awesome it is to play good games basically anywhere you want. That's a big sell for the switch. And easy money for devs. 

[Fiddler]

1 hour ago, A True Kaniggit said:

18 hours into my first playthrough of South Park: The Fractured But Hole, and the game freezes when I'm about to beat one of the final bosses. I don't think I have it in me to try again tonight after that. 

This happened to me a few times.  Once under the police station (it finally worked when I put token in my party) and again in the past (I just kept restarting and eventually it worked).  It was frustrating as hell though.  Never had it happen on my second play through.

[Gorn]

12 hours ago, Werthead said:

I also went back and redid the last four or five story quests in Blood and Wine as I got the "ultra grimdark" ending which wasn't how my Geralt was rolling. That was a good idea as the alternate quests (in the fairytale otherworld) were much funnier and more entertaining

I actually found the "ultra grimdark" ending to be an appropriate one.

Spoiler

Syanna and Dettlaff both deserved to die for their actions, and Anna Henrietta has shown herself to be massively arrogant / nepotistic, and her death came as a direct consequence of her choices, so I didn't really consider it a tragedy.

 

[Werthead]

1 hour ago, Gorn said:

I actually found the "ultra grimdark" ending to be an appropriate one.

  Reveal hidden contents

Syanna and Dettlaff both deserved to die for their actions, and Anna Henrietta has shown herself to be massively arrogant / nepotistic, and her death came as a direct consequence of her choices, so I didn't really consider it a tragedy.

 

I think that's a reasonable point but it also:

Plunges Toussaint into some serious instability and problems for some time afterwards. Also a bit weird to relax and chill out in your house in Toussaint after getting/letting everyone die.

[aceluby]

10 hours ago, Kalbear said:

I think people are underestimating how awesome it is to play good games basically anywhere you want. That's a big sell for the switch. And easy money for devs. 

Yep, I will gladly pay to play some of the best PS3/360 games on a decent mobile platform.

[Slurktan]

10 hours ago, Kalbear said:

I think people are underestimating how awesome it is to play good games basically anywhere you want. That's a big sell for the switch. And easy money for devs. 

Why do you think people are underestimating it?  I'd say people are properly estimating it.  It is the only thing that the Switch does.  It is worse in every other possible way than the other systems at all things.  It's a gimmick, much like the Wii.

[Caligula_K3]

1 hour ago, Slurktan said:

Why do you think people are underestimating it?  I'd say people are properly estimating it.  It is the only thing that the Switch does.  It is worse in every other possible way than the other systems at all things.  It's a gimmick, much like the Wii.

Eh, I'd say it's more than gimmick- as were the Wii motion controls, when they were used properly. The Switch is the perfect console for someone who doesn't have a lot of time for gaming. Its simple UI is a real advantage for being able to boot up a game quickly. The portability makes me more likely to play certain games that I would rarely play on a PC or in front of a TV screen. Its versatility is just useful. Combine that with an excellent first year of games, and it can really be worth a purchase, despite it not reaching PS4 or Xbox One levels of graphics.

[aceluby]

1 hour ago, Caligula_K3 said:

Eh, I'd say it's more than gimmick- as were the Wii motion controls, when they were used properly. The Switch is the perfect console for someone who doesn't have a lot of time for gaming. Its simple UI is a real advantage for being able to boot up a game quickly. The portability makes me more likely to play certain games that I would rarely play on a PC or in front of a TV screen. Its versatility is just really useful. Combine that with an excellent first year of games, and it can really be worth a purchase, despite it not reaching PS4 or Xbox One levels of graphics.

Agreed 100% here.  I'm really enjoying my switch and love that I can play it in the living room while my wife watches TV.  

[briantw]

3 hours ago, Werthead said:

I think that's a reasonable point but it also:

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Plunges Toussaint into some serious instability and problems for some time afterwards. Also a bit weird to relax and chill out in your house in Toussaint after getting/letting everyone die.

 

If I recall, don't you effectively get the best ending by living up to the ideals of a Toussaint knight whenever you are given a choice in the game?  I thought that was a nice touch.

[Kalbear]

13 hours ago, Slurktan said:

Why do you think people are underestimating it?  I'd say people are properly estimating it.  It is the only thing that the Switch does.  It is worse in every other possible way than the other systems at all things.  It's a gimmick, much like the Wii.

Being able to easily take the thing and play it on any screen anywhere is not a gimmick, and not remotely like the Wii. This is like saying the gameboy is worse than the NES and is a 'gimmick'. It's a good enough gaming system to play a lot of fun games well without major limitations, AND it is also 100% portable for all of those games. That you can do things like use a regular console controller on a big TV to play the games and then remove it and a minute later be playing it in Wii U mode is remarkable. 

[Fez]

22 hours ago, Slurktan said:

Why do you think people are underestimating it?  I'd say people are properly estimating it.  It is the only thing that the Switch does.  It is worse in every other possible way than the other systems at all things.  It's a gimmick, much like the Wii.

The Switch is also the only platform for some truly excellent first-party Nintendo games.

And the mobility isn't a gimmick, it's a core feature that vastly improves it's appeal. 

The "HD rumble" in the joy-cons is a gimmick.

[KiDisaster]

Personally the portability of the Switch isn't even a factor for me (for the same reasons I never cared to own a 3DS or Vita or anything, if I'm not at home I'm never really in a position to be playing games, and if I am at home I'd rather play something on my PC or TV than use a handheld). I've barely taken it off the dock since I first set it up. The first party games are just phenomenal. Couldn't pass them up.

[Caligula_K3]

2 hours ago, KiDisaster said:

Personally the portability of the Switch isn't even a factor for me (for the same reasons I never cared to own a 3DS or Vita or anything, if I'm not at home I'm never really in a position to be playing games, and if I am at home I'd rather play something on my PC or TV than use a handheld). I've barely taken it off the dock since I first set it up. The first party games are just phenomenal. Couldn't pass them up.

The first party games are in the end the reason I bought a Switch too. I'm actually surprised by how much I use the portable aspect of it. It was definitely useful for a few trips I made, but even when I'm just at home, sometimes it can feel so relaxing to be playing Zelda in bed, or Sonic on a small screen rather than the TV. It's weird, but somehow it works for me.

 

 

[RumHam]

Personally I love how the switch is portable and a lot of games can be played multiplayer with just the two joy-cons. I'd never lug my xbox over to someone else's house but it's easy to throw the switch in my bag and show a friend a new game. I do wish the thing just had an hdmi port on it though. I never carry the dock with me. 

[KiDisaster]

Switch port for Night In The Woods (a game I've been meaning to play since I first heard about it) has been officially announced for February 1st: 

 

I'll probably get it on there. 

[Slurktan]

14 hours ago, Kalbear said:

Being able to easily take the thing and play it on any screen anywhere is not a gimmick, and not remotely like the Wii. This is like saying the gameboy is worse than the NES and is a 'gimmick'. It's a good enough gaming system to play a lot of fun games well without major limitations, AND it is also 100% portable for all of those games. That you can do things like use a regular console controller on a big TV to play the games and then remove it and a minute later be playing it in Wii U mode is remarkable. 

I can easily take my ps4 around though for example.  It weighs maybe 5 pounds and all you need is an hdmi port and an outlet, I think people wildly overestimate how hard it is to move a console around,  The gimmick of the Switch is that you can play the switch like a bigger gameboy.  Nice I guess.  But just a gimmick.  As for the those saying the first party games are what makes it.... they did for the Wii too.

[Kalbear]

1 minute ago, Slurktan said:

I can easily take my ps4 around though for example.  It weighs maybe 5 pounds and all you need is an hdmi port and an outlet, I think people wildly overestimate how hard it is to move a console around,  The gimmick of the Switch is that you can play the switch like a bigger gameboy.  Nice I guess.  But just a gimmick.  As for the those saying the first party games are what makes it.... they did for the Wii too.

You also need a screen. Which sure, you can carry those around too, but that's a bit tougher. It's also a bit tougher to play it in the car, or on the subway, or at a gymnastics meet. 

I can move my computer around fairly easily too, but I'd not call it particularly portable, nor would I like to play for a while then take it out of my office and bring it into my bed and play there. 

Being able to play things like Dark Souls or Skyrim or Fallout 4 or Rocket League anywhere isn't a gimmick. It's a feature, and judging from the sales and from watching people play it outside of the house I'd say it's a pretty big feature.

[aceluby]

14 minutes ago, Slurktan said:

I can easily take my ps4 around though for example.  It weighs maybe 5 pounds and all you need is an hdmi port and an outlet, I think people wildly overestimate how hard it is to move a console around,  The gimmick of the Switch is that you can play the switch like a bigger gameboy.  Nice I guess.  But just a gimmick.  As for the those saying the first party games are what makes it.... they did for the Wii too.

To say that a mobile console is a gimmick either doesn't understand how huge mobile gaming is, or doesn't know what the word gimmick means.  

[RumHam]

19 minutes ago, Kalbear said:

Being able to play things like Dark Souls or Skyrim or Fallout 4 or Rocket League anywhere isn't a gimmick. It's a feature, and judging from the sales and from watching people play it outside of the house I'd say it's a pretty big feature.

Dark Souls will be the third game I've bought twice to be able to have it on a portable. I'll get The Long Dark a second time too when the port is done. 

Also have they said anything about Fallout 4 for Switch? That one I would probably not re-buy as it was pretty shallow and underwhelming. I'd love a port of New Vegas though. 

[Kalbear]

I can only imagine that they'll port Fallout 4, though it's conjecture. Bethesda loves doing that sort of thing, and if they're already done with Skyrim it shouldn't be that hard of a lift save on memory issues.

And I get that the feature isn't for everyone's needs or desires (though I would say to you: try it, because it is a lot more awesome than it at first sounds), but the notion that it's a gimmick is like saying that the smartphone with a touchscreen is a gimmick. It's a major feature, and it's a hugely popular and convenient one, especially for a generation of gamers who have grown up being able to play anywhere they want to.