Videogames Thread: Steaming Ahead

[Werthead]

23 hours ago, Caligula_K3 said:

I don't know, I'm enjoying Starfield. It has flaws, for sure, and it's not going up as my favourite Bethesda game or close. But "Angry Reviews" like this tend to focus on all the nitpicky annoyances and make them out to be a much bigger deal than they are. And they also tend to ignore all the things that the game does well, because in internet rage culture, something is either the worst or the best. For example, the faction questlines have been so much better and more fun than anything Bethesda has done in a long time. The planet cities are also really enjoyable, especially Neon.

One thing I really don't get the point of is settlement building. But I also wasn't really into this in Fallout IV. It's also the sort of feature that's easy to ignore if you don't want to do it.

I'd say that Starfield is their weakest release in a considerable amount of time, and maybe all the way back since Daggerfall (the previous BGS game that Starfield most closely resembles, weirdly), although Starfield is more accessible and has a better UI than most Bethesda games (note: not the same as saying it's a good interface). I think Morrowind through Fallout 4 are all stronger games.

Starfield I think has a lot of potential for the expansions to improve upon, and maybe some QOL updates like a few Skyrim and FO4 got after release. Modding potential is also high.

The biggest weakness Bethesda has right now is the competition. From Arena through Skyrim they had little to no competition in the space they were working in; with Fallout 4 they had rather more, which I think contributed to the criticism (The Witcher 3 came out six months before FO4). Starfield has an absolute metric shit-ton of games now competing in its space, and felt pretty amateur hour in areas compared to Phantom Liberty and Baldur's Gate 3.

[polishgenius]

I had a really good time with Terraria when I played it years back but once I'd discovered every biome I found some of the other stuff too fiddly to carry it on its own. Still, I did build a hobbit-hole with a space elevator so I can't complain. Might go back to it at some point.

I also like that the developers weren't insistent on patching out glitches users like. I made great use of the infinite water glitch. 

 

But yes, the corruption mechanic is pretty whack. 





Currently playing Mario Wonder. Does exactly what it says on the tin. There's something to be said for a game that is just purely about bringing joy. 

[Ser Not Appearing]

I need BG3 to hit Xbox already.

[Rhom]

35 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

Currently playing Mario Wonder. Does exactly what it says on the tin. There's something to be said for a game that is just purely about bringing joy. 

Bought it on the eshop last night and set it to download today.  So I look forward to giving it a run tonight.

[Kalbear]

Terraria is a remarkably great game given its age and graphics. The community effort and mods on it are pretty profound and that it has life over 12 years after its launch is pretty remarkable. I got introduced when my then 11-year old son got into it, and now I'm watching my 15 year old and 12 year old sons ask that 11 year old turned 23 for help and advice on it. 

It does start off rough, but man it has a satisfying progression. 

[polishgenius]

Looks like I've lost my saves for Terraria. So there goes my hobbit-hole with a stairway to heaven, Sadface. 

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

2 hours ago, Ser Not Appearing said:

I need BG3 to hit Xbox already.

My friend why would you torture yourself by playing a CRPG on a console when it needs far more depth full UI than what a console can provide along with camera angle and battles 

[Whiskeyjack]

16 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

My friend why would you torture yourself by playing a CRPG on a console when it needs far more depth full UI than what a console can provide along with camera angle and battles 

For what it's worth, this hasn't been my experience.  It's been great on PS5.  At least so far - through the end of Act 1.

[Fez]

Been playing Super Mario Bros Wonder. It's a bit easy for a platformer, as the 2D Mario games have been for a while now, but its an absolute delight of a game. The wonder seeds found in each level are some of the most creative stuff I've seen in a game in a long time.

[Ser Not Appearing]

19 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

My friend why would you torture yourself by playing a CRPG on a console when it needs far more depth full UI than what a console can provide along with camera angle and battles 

 

Beggars can't be choosers!

[JGP]

My Enemy is back. After a match whispers:

him: come duel me or stfu

me: lol you're the one running their mouth. and i solo'd you three times last match. keep coming it'll happen more. bet

him: we're going to destroy your fucking country and i'm coming for you

[he's Russian, and has convinced himself I'm a Ukrainian specifically there to troll him]

me: good luck with THAT, bolshoi balls

him: [rages incoherently for 5 mins]

[Ser Not Appearing]

10 hours ago, JGP said:

My Enemy is back. After a match whispers:

him: come duel me or stfu

me: lol you're the one running their mouth. and i solo'd you three times last match. keep coming it'll happen more. bet

him: we're going to destroy your fucking country and i'm coming for you

[he's Russian, and has convinced himself I'm a Ukrainian specifically there to troll him]

me: good luck with THAT, bolshoi balls

him: [rages incoherently for 5 mins]

What game is this again?

[Werthead]

Outstanding article on the Argonaut Software guys who moved to Japan to work on Star Fox and then didn't come back (for a decade). Interesting stuff on Japanese working and gaming culture.

[JGP]

9 hours ago, Ser Not Appearing said:

What game is this again?

SWTOR, pvp lol

[Caligula_K3]

On 10/20/2023 at 2:12 PM, Werthead said:

I'd say that Starfield is their weakest release in a considerable amount of time, and maybe all the way back since Daggerfall (the previous BGS game that Starfield most closely resembles, weirdly), although Starfield is more accessible and has a better UI than most Bethesda games (note: not the same as saying it's a good interface). I think Morrowind through Fallout 4 are all stronger games.

Starfield I think has a lot of potential for the expansions to improve upon, and maybe some QOL updates like a few Skyrim and FO4 got after release. Modding potential is also high.

The biggest weakness Bethesda has right now is the competition. From Arena through Skyrim they had little to no competition in the space they were working in; with Fallout 4 they had rather more, which I think contributed to the criticism (The Witcher 3 came out six months before FO4). Starfield has an absolute metric shit-ton of games now competing in its space, and felt pretty amateur hour in areas compared to Phantom Liberty and Baldur's Gate 3.

I can understand why people would have this opinion. There are some flaws in Starfield which are pretty fundamentally annoying. And of all Bethesda games that I've played (everything from Morrowind on, basically, minus Fallout 76), its exploration loop is probably the weakest. I understand why there's not seamless flying between solar systems, but there really are just too many layers and loading screens to get to a location on a planet, and this disincentivizes me from exploring random planets, building outposts, etc... It doesn't help that the UI for most of this stuff is completely unintuitive. I hope to hell that Bethesda releases some QOL improvements here.

On the other hand, I've gotten a lot more into Starfield than I ever did into Fallout IV or Oblivion, which both felt very generic to me and which also had their own annoyances (especially Oblivion). And Starfield excels at things that those games aren't so good at. I'm genuinely enjoying all the faction questlines I've done so far and many of the random sidequests I run into. The action gameplay is fun. The ship based part of the game, including improving ships, is pretty enjoyable. There's just a lot of variety and ambition in the game that I can really appreciate. In many ways, it feels like a better version of Mass Effect Andromeda than your typical Bethesda game, though it keeps some of Andromeda's flaws, like the constant loading screens.

 

Edited October 22, 2023 by Caligula_K3

[IlyaP]

2 hours ago, Caligula_K3 said:

In many ways, it feels like a better version of Mass Effect Andromeda than your typical Bethesda game, though it keeps some of Andromeda's flaws, like the constant loading screens.

MEA has constant loading screens? I've done over a hundred hours of that glorious game and the game pretty much loaded with no real issue for me quite quickly 95% of the time. There was the occasional shader loading issue on one planet (Kadara, I think), but aside from that it was fine! 

[IlyaP]

Having needed a long break from the Assassin's Creed games, I finally loaded up Assassin's Creed: Syndicate on Sunday afternoon, and was pleasantly surprised to find a surprisingly enjoyable and gorgeous game, albeit it one with systems and mechanics that I predict will grow stale over time (go to new part of London, level up, take over gang, complete templar mission, develop support against Big Bad, get thrust in a slight moral quandary before finally taking out big bad in a three-part end fight that goes on for too long). 

And oh look, they have the winch gun from the Batman games! 

Fun enough game, but I still love AC3 the most (wandering around 18th century Boston will never not make me the happiest kid in the room.)

[polishgenius]

A good way into Wonder now. It's got a lot of chat that it's the best 2D Mario since World. That's possibly true (I can't say for sure because I haven't played all of them) but what I would say is that it'll probably need time to say for sure because in a lot of ways it's a different sort of game, aiming at different things. 

Essentially World (which I've never played in its entirety and should fix that) is replayable and ages great because it's very much about gameplay, level design and skill. Wonder isn't a walkover in the same way some Nintendo games of more recent times have been, and things don't have to be tough to be replayable-  but I think it is fair to say that a lot of the joy of the initial playthrough comes from the fact that many of the levels are, in part, comedy routines built out of Mario/platformer tropes and mechanics, and it remains to be seen if it holds up as well once you know the punchline.

 

I'm not saying it won't. As a first play it's magnificent and obviously plenty of comedy routines hold up great even on repeat watches, so I'm hoping that's the case here. 

[Poobah]

5 hours ago, Werthead said:

Outstanding article on the Argonaut Software guys who moved to Japan to work on Star Fox and then didn't come back (for a decade). Interesting stuff on Japanese working and gaming culture.

Really cool read, thanks for the link!

[horangi]

I've been enjoying Starfield overall and agree with others its more about the variety of options even if if the fast travel does break up the immersion a bit.  I have had a few laughs how the romance scenarios have played out with my paramour generally deciding to flirt at the worst time.  I finally got a prompt to get married after killing off 3 waves of Spacers, wading through sprayed blood and corpses only to be told I am the truest of loves... Oh and by the way, what are the ethics involved in using the precog power when going through the romance dialogues?