Videogames 2023 pt. II: Can We patreon This Man an Alienware Already?

[Corvinus85]

On 6/2/2023 at 3:48 PM, Werthead said:

RPS has its "Best Space Games" list, which I got a few comments in on.

They define "Space Game" as "any game vaguely involving space," which is a bit of a broad brush (hence TIE Fighter and Mass Effect and Stellaris and The Outer Wilds all appearing together), but it has some nice inclusions.

In that case I would like to nominate Battletech and Starcraft.

[Ran]

On 5/26/2023 at 7:22 PM, Ran said:

As I've aged, the pace of the Total War games has seemed too fast to me (at least in multiplayer), and makes me wish there were more turn-based, large scale battle-focused games out there. One of my favorite historical games of this sort was The Great Battles of Alexander.

Ask and I shall receive, apparently: Field of Glory II (ancient Rome tactical turn-based game) is free on Steam until the 8th. ETA: Impressions of the game from when it was in beta, for those wanting some more details

  

6 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

In that case I would like to nominate Battletech and Starcraft.

Yeah, I would have thought Starcraft would have been there, at least.

But that said, I'm okay with the list for the most part, though I would have liked to see Privateer or a Wing Commander on the list. But Freelancer is there at least, which is well-deserved.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Ran

[Werthead]

I barely ever use a controller outside of the odd racing game (I use a HOTAS joystick for flight/space sims), but I'm rather tempted to get this because the aesthetic is cool.

Also intrigued by the Starfield presentation on Sunday. The revelation that space combat will have a full energy control system (like the classic TIE Fighter and Freespace 2 days) is interesting, and more in-depth than I was expecting.

 

[Ran]

34 minutes ago, Werthead said:

I use a HOTAS joystick for flight/space sims

Any recommendations on that front? The last time I owned one, FlightStick Pro and Thrustmaster were the brands everyone recommended, but I've no idea what the current state of the art is.

[Werthead]

47 minutes ago, Ran said:

Any recommendations on that front? The last time I owned one, FlightStick Pro and Thrustmaster were the brands everyone recommended, but I've no idea what the current state of the art is.

I still have  a Thrustmaster HOTAS One T.Flight from six or seven years ago. Still works excellently on newer games (had a great time with Microsoft Flight Simulator) and older ones like X-Wing: Alliance, TIE Fighter and Freespace 2.

[Werthead]

Summer Games Fest underway. Pretty low-key in terms of big news, but some good stuff.

Alan Wake II sounds pretty good. New character, with a 50/50 split between Alan and a newcomer called Saga. There's some WTFery with Alex Casey also showing up, Casey being the Max Payne substitute Remedy created because they didn't have the rights to that character any more, and also a fictional (in-universe) character created by Alan Wake as a novel character.

Alan Wake II will also be a survival horror game and it sounds like it will be something of an open-world game, with you being able to switch between Alan in the Dark Place and Saga outside almost at will.

Oooh, Baldur's Gate III has a new antagonist voiced by Jason Isaacs. The new bad guy commands an army of automatons, and it sounds like the story may hinge on if your PC chooses to ally with them or oppose them. Also the game has a locked release date of 31 August.

Under the Waves looks potentially good. 3rd person Subnautica? Unclear if it's open world or a more focused story thing.

Ah, the indie game fest at the end of the month looks like it's going to include an announcement of Stray 2. That makes sense, the first game was great but short. A more substantial sequel (after the first sold a gazillion more copies than expected) could be cool.

Spider-Man 2 will come out on 20 October.

Ooh, looks like an official Star Trek version of Stellaris, called Star Trek Infinite (ETA: apparently the actual Stellaris team have said they're not working on it, and there's some indications it might be a relaunch of a 2011 mobile game of the same name: meh).

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth looks pretty tight. Seeing the Chocobo Farm and the Observatory in full 3D is cool. Also it now has a release window of early 2024.

No Phantom Liberty? That's weird.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Werthead

[IlyaP]

4 hours ago, Werthead said:

No Phantom Liberty? That's weird.

To quote Hawkeye: "Don't. Don't give me hope."

[Ran]

12 hours ago, Werthead said:

Ooh, looks like an official Star Trek version of Stellaris, called Star Trek Infinite

There was Stellaris Nexus, in Stellaris news. I thought that looked interesting.

[polishgenius]

I'm not even particularly a Sonic fan, but it's nice to see that Sega have finally realised that they can and should keep the 2D series going and just freshen it up rather than insisting that 3D is the only way to go in the modern age and the only 2D releases would be ports and remasters. Took a fan modder of the old games to convince them, but credit where it's due that they (1) listened to him and hired him rather than burying his ideas in lawsuits like Nintendo do and (2) have apparently carried on that process. 

[Werthead]

Finally, a bit more info on Avowed.

Set in the Living Lands, an island-continent mentioned a fair bit in Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2. Looks like you have a customisable character, companions, RPG choices, and a lot of combat options, including dual wielding, using guns, magic or swords/shields etc.

I have a suspicion this will be to Skyrim what The Outer Worlds was to Starfield, a cut-down, streamlined version. This does look like it'll be open world, but I suspect the map won't be massive. Obsidian do good stuff, but usually the better when the focus is narrative rather than environmental.

 

[dog-days]

Yes, I was a bit worried that the narrative/characterisation didn't seem to be foregrounded in the trailer, beyond a generic 'there's a terrible plague' fantasy problem*. 

It's not due until 2024. Hopefully later publicity releases will be more promising and make me think 'a yes, this is a real Pillars of Eternity/Obsidian game' and not just 'kind of like Skyrim'. 

* Absurd and unrealistic fantasy genre tropes strike again. 

Edited June 11, 2023 by dog-days

[Werthead]

Yes.

It looks like they've gone a bit mad with this one, and the sheer scale of it is pretty wild. And that extra year of dev time looks well spent, both the general graphical look of the game and combat looks vastly improved from what we last saw.

Also, deep cut Oblivion reference which is most appreciated.

Looks like Skyrim Grandma is in the game as well (at least a character based on her), which is cool (I guess they were worried she wouldn't make it to the release of Elder Scrolls VI).

Showing how you can almost break the ship design system with the derpy Optimus Prime spaceship is also quite amusing. Can't wait for the Day One explosion of giant penis ships.

Edited June 11, 2023 by Werthead

[Werthead]

Looking at the Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077 minimum requirements (CP77's have been reworked!), and what the likes of Avowed and Star Wars: Outcasts are going to require next year, makes me think it's time to bit the bullet on the new PC. Will have to look at the options over the next few days.

Groan. My wallet is going to take a pounding.

[Werthead]

Ooh, a new inXile RPG, and their first AAA-looking game. Microsoft money at work.

 

[Fez]

22 minutes ago, Werthead said:

Ooh, a new inXile RPG, and their first AAA-looking game. Microsoft money at work.

 

Looking extremely Bioshock Infinite-y there, on multiple levels. Not necessarily a bad thing, but shockingly similar.

[Werthead]

Just now, Fez said:

Looking extremely Bioshock Infinite-y there, on multiple levels. Not necessarily a bad thing, but shockingly similar.

I'm hoping the big difference is this being a RPG. The BioShock games were badly-served by them being FPS games when they felt like they were crying out to be full RPGs.

[IlyaP]

2 hours ago, Werthead said:

Yes.

It looks like they've gone a bit mad with this one, and the sheer scale of it is pretty wild. And that extra year of dev time looks well spent, both the general graphical look of the game and combat looks vastly improved from what we last saw.

Also, deep cut Oblivion reference which is most appreciated.

Looks like Skyrim Grandma is in the game as well (at least a character based on her), which is cool (I guess they were worried she wouldn't make it to the release of Elder Scrolls VI).

Showing how you can almost break the ship design system with the derpy Optimus Prime spaceship is also quite amusing. Can't wait for the Day One explosion of giant penis ships.

Starfield and Phantom Liberty both hit in mid-September! Man, between this and new albums from The Foo Fighters, Taylor Swift, and Boy & Bear and some absolutely wicked live shows over here in Kangaroostan, 2023 is stacking up to be one of the most memorable years ever in this, the darkest timeline.  

[Corvinus85]

5 hours ago, Werthead said:

Yes.

It looks like they've gone a bit mad with this one, and the sheer scale of it is pretty wild. And that extra year of dev time looks well spent, both the general graphical look of the game and combat looks vastly improved from what we last saw.

Also, deep cut Oblivion reference which is most appreciated.

Looks like Skyrim Grandma is in the game as well (at least a character based on her), which is cool (I guess they were worried she wouldn't make it to the release of Elder Scrolls VI).

Showing how you can almost break the ship design system with the derpy Optimus Prime spaceship is also quite amusing. Can't wait for the Day One explosion of giant penis ships.

They had me at the atmosphere depends on the star type. This looks really good.

[polishgenius]

7 hours ago, Werthead said:

Looking at the Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077 minimum requirements (CP77's have been reworked!), and what the likes of Avowed and Star Wars: Outcasts are going to require next year, makes me think it's time to bit the bullet on the new PC. Will have to look at the options over the next few days.

Groan. My wallet is going to take a pounding.

 

 

Pfft. Just give 'em to Nintendo, get them to make them run on the Switch. 

 

(or Hello Games, who somehow made No Man's Sky run on it)

[Poobah]

I know there's a lot of hype for Starfield but I'm honestly left kinda cold. Yeah it looks fantastic but it gives me the feel of a tech demo not an actual game and needing several thousand pounds worth of hardware that I don't have to play a new game ceased to be a selling point for me about a decade ago. All the talk about procedural generation and how many planets there are makes me feel like it's extremely wide but very shallow - No Man's Sky before the redemption arc, but in ultra "make your PC cry" 8K or whatever - and it's a bethesda game so throw in all that jank too.