Videogames: All Valves on Deck

[Ran]

1 hour ago, Gorn said:

For any actress, that's sort of an chicken-and-egg situation. Putting on significant amount of muscle would lock them out of other future roles, which causes a lack of athletic-looking actresses, which causes casting directors not to seek out athletic-looking actresses due to lack of options.

True. There are some pretty muscular actresses out there (Katy O'Brian comes to mind, her physique is a big part of her co-starring with Kristen Stewart in Loves Lie Bleeding), and I'm sure any actress who believed they fit the physical bill for Abby tried for the role... but the pool of actresses who are very physically fit who are also top-notch actors, well, it's definitely putting a limit on how many you'll find.

Easier to get a talented actress like Devers (she'll always be Loretta to me) and then reshape either her (through training) or simply reshape the character.

[IlyaP]

6 hours ago, Rhom said:

I finished Inquisition... once.  It was terrible.  The gameplay was awful.  And the game was big for the sake of being big.  I am one of the rare few that liked Andromeda, and I liked it despite correctly feeling that it was just Inquisition in space.  The difference was that Andromeda's gameplay was actually fun.

Same. Andromeda is my comfort food of gaming. I am always happy to load it up and putz around and enjoy the inter-party banter.

 

6 hours ago, Rhom said:

DA:Origins I played multiple times with different origins for the Warden.  Just a completely totally different style of game.  Heck, I even enjoyed DA2.  I have zero excitement for Dreadwolf.  

Ditto on this front - esp. Dragon Age: Exodus, aka Dragon Age 2, which is my favorite game in the series.

[polishgenius]

Finished Outer Wilds. Excellent game, though it did have two semi-related irritations - one, navigation in planet interiors or cave systems could be needlessly difficult considering the time pressure (either because the actual navigation was unclear thanks to the visuals, or because it was asking you to complete mini-platforming tasks the games' controls aren't designed for), and second, because of the time pressure, failing one step of these situations almost always meant an irritating trek back to where I was from the start of the timeloop, even if I didn't die.

That's a small complaint in an otherwise fantastic game, though. Genuinely using the format of a game to tell a story in a way only a game possibly could, and the story itself is smart as shit to boot. Love to see that kind of thing. Gonna be in my head for a while I reckon. 

[Caligula_K3]

On 1/13/2024 at 5:49 AM, polishgenius said:

Finished Outer Wilds. Excellent game, though it did have two semi-related irritations - one, navigation in planet interiors or cave systems could be needlessly difficult considering the time pressure (either because the actual navigation was unclear thanks to the visuals, or because it was asking you to complete mini-platforming tasks the games' controls aren't designed for), and second, because of the time pressure, failing one step of these situations almost always meant an irritating trek back to where I was from the start of the timeloop, even if I didn't die.

That's a small complaint in an otherwise fantastic game, though. Genuinely using the format of a game to tell a story in a way only a game possibly could, and the story itself is smart as shit to boot. Love to see that kind of thing. Gonna be in my head for a while I reckon. 

Yeah, I remember that I just looked up the paths through a couple of the game's cave systems, because I found it very frustrating fumbling around in the dark on a time limit. The cave systems weren't visually striking either, so it's not like I would remember the correct path on each loop.

I also found the "final loop" had its frustrating elements. But yes, small complaints about an incredible game.

Elden Ring: I've beaten Lleyndell, the capital, and am now beginning to explore the snowy areas beyond. Lleyndell was an amazing area/dungeon (Anor Lando is my favourite part of Dark Souls, and this lived up to that sort of area), and a really nice cap to what's been a fantastic part of the game. I'm a bit worried about what's next...

Spoiler

I knew that Lleyndell wasn't the end of the game by any stretch, but the way the game expands after that is the equivalent of a wet fart. You finally get to the Erdtree after, in my case, 60 hours. Your whole quest has been building up to this. What's the plot twist that continues the game? There are some vines there blocking your way. So you have to go now to get some magical fire to burn them. It's so anticlimactic. Lack of concrete plot has already been a problem for me in a game this long, but it's getting worse. I don't know how much actual input GRRM had into this and how much is just marketing, but I can't say I feel his touch at all.

I also can't say that my first impression of the snowy areas is great. Just a lot of white, with some reduced visibility. There also seems to be a major difficulty spike. I've gone from being clearly overleveled in just about every other area to seemingly way too underleveled in this next area. I don't mind a bit more challenge, but... it's a bit much.

 

Edited January 14 by Caligula_K3

[Impmk2]

And finished Sekiro. Very much enjoyed, when the fights clicked everything just kinda flowed. Didn't feel at any stage like I just got lucky on the bosses, or went and farmed an overpowered build like in the other souls games. Also helped that it's relatively short and sweet.

I think it was my favorite souls-like game in the end, though have yet to play Bloodbourne (and am unlikely to unless they bring it to PC).

Now downloading BG3 on to the new PC for an evil Dark Urge playthrough. I never normally play evil in RPGs, so will be interesting to see how this goes...

Edited January 15 by Impmk2

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

Playing through Red Dead 2 it baffles my mind that Rockstar can simultaneously create one of the best looking games with great characters, a beautiful haunting score ,superb sound and presentation and a compelling narrative, paired with the worst gameplay mechanics,PC controls and horse riding I’ve ever encountered in a game in recent time…. I really wish they would transition to making a full blown RPG instead of action adventure, story mission driven, restricted gameplay. Such a wasted potential!

Oh and did i mention that the stealth system is utter dogshit and completely broken? 

Edited January 15 by Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II

[Darryk]

Anyone have any recommendations for relaxed city-builders? My favorites in the old days were Dungeon Keeper and Settlers.

[Martell Spy]

17 minutes ago, Darryk said:

Anyone have any recommendations for relaxed city-builders? My favorites in the old days were Dungeon Keeper and Settlers.

Not quite my cup of tea (although I have played them), but I have a friend that likes that type of game. They liked Cities: Skylines a lot. It sounds kind of like Sim City to me.

[l2 0 5 5]

Way late on this but I'm indifferent on Dever as Abby. Pointing out the physical differences between her and her character are fair, though. I think Abby's build is a big part of her character, and her motivations to train are for a reason. Her physical feats are more believable as well. I've only seen her in Unbelievable, which was very good. 

Game spoiler stuff - 
 

Spoiler

I thought having a physically intimidating person oppose Ellie was smart. She seemed unbeatable, in a way. Someone with motivation and the brute force to back it up posed as a serious threat to Ellie and her mission. Dever is small, like Ramsey, so maybe that's what they were going for? Something more believable for when they inevitably lock horns? She can certainly train and get shredded but it says she's 5'2'' so there's only so much she'll be able to do. I think when it comes down to it, Druckmann and Mazin just don't care about portraying Abby in that light the way it happened in the game. Just not as important. Can have more fun with Abby's build in a video game as they tailor her traits/skills to that physique. Doesn't matter as much in a TV show. Personally, I was pulling for Shannon Berry, who has that Abby look to her face (if you google her there's an image where she is scowling that looks very Abby), and she also has a more comparable build. Katy O'Brian would've been an OK choice, but she's 34 so that would not have worked with any earlier scenes. She also looks like she could snap Ramsey in half with a glare. 

As for what they hope to accomplish in S2, I can't see them jumping straight into 4 years later with Ellie being woken by Jesse and they go on their ranging, with Pedro Pascal peacing out after episode 2 or 3. My guess is that they use some of the flashback stuff we see for both Ellie/Abby in the earlier episodes, and the penultimate or finale is Joel's demise. There is also the possibility they switch things up (as they did with some S1 eps) which could delay the death. Druckmann has said before that they played around with the idea of Abby infiltrating Jackson as a common person and going after Joel when she's gained his trust (let's be real that could take 10 years).

 

[Toth]

2 hours ago, Darryk said:

Anyone have any recommendations for relaxed city-builders? My favorites in the old days were Dungeon Keeper and Settlers.

Settlers 3 was my very first game and shaped me till this day. And in fact I played Settlers 4 again last month, though I must admit it was a pain in the ass to get running on a modern computer.

Stating that:

I second Cities Skylines. It's indeed very relaxing and a powerful creative tool, though admittedly it couldn't catch my attention for too long.

Tropico. Literally every Kalypso Tropico would suffice, they all play more or less the same, but are absolutely fantastic and addicting.

Hit a GOG sale and get the fantastic Pharaoh or Zeus, or the more crude Caesar III or more obscure, but still fantastic Emperor. They are old school, but work out of the box and it is great fun to watch your monuments grow.

Stronghold or Stronghold Crusader. Every day, every time. Those games are absolutely fucking timeless.

On a more modern note, Anno, particularly Anno 1800 with its bazillion expansions gets a lot of praise. I must admit, I personally never could get into them because the space management and high punishment of inefficiency lets my OCD run rampant and I'm never sure whether I did everything correctly (and I never have).

On a more peaceful side, Planet Coaster and Planet Zoo are very relaxing park building games. Not quite cities, but certainly satisfies the same itch and they are both extremely powerful creative tools.

Similarly to Dungeon Keeper, I guess Two Point Hospital and Two Point Campus are very much old school Bullfrog games, though naturally closer to Theme Hospital in theme. Granted, I haven't played them myself yet. Instead I played the much more serious Project Hospital, which funnily enough plays more like a Theme Hospital game that half-way through swerves into an episode of House M.D. when you have to personally guide patients through the diagnosis process because your doctors are toddlers.

On a more eccentric side, a few months ago I played lots of Railway Empire. I found it deceptively fun, if at times a bit difficult.

Edited January 15 by Toth

[Corvinus85]

3 hours ago, Darryk said:

Anyone have any recommendations for relaxed city-builders? My favorites in the old days were Dungeon Keeper and Settlers.

Frostpunk 

With the weather we're having in the Midwest, I was thinking it's the right game to play. 

[polishgenius]

I haven't played it, but I got Northgard for my Settlers III-fan brother and he enjoyed it. Supposedly trends a bit more towards RTS stuff than Settlers, but still close enough that a lot of people saw it as a spiritual successor of sorts when Settlers was fucking about.

 

 

One which I've got my eye on just because I'm a fan of the Steamworld franchise is Steamworld: Build. Got pretty decent reviews.
 

 

 

 

On a separate note, I've been getting into Highland Song finally, after mostly completing Outer Wilds. Quite an odd game- exploration along a series of 2D planes as you traverse the highlands of Scotland to get to the sea. Not sure there's much like it out there. Not quite a platformer, not an endless runner though there are segments that nod to those, not a Metroidvania although it's an interconnected world, not a walking simulator despite being in a very literal sense a walking/scrambling/climbing simulator. Not a roguelike or roguelike, even though it's a game that encourages multiple runs (you're never gonna make it in under the time limit the first time, so you restart with knowledge gained and a few key items and look for quicker routes). 
It's fun though. Occasionally frustrating, been a couple of times I thought I was making progress and ended up looping back to somewhere I was two in-game days earlier, or just spent a day not being able to find a way off a particular mountain. But that's always a risk in exploration-based games, and it's got a pretty fascinating way with its landscapes. Plus it's beautiful and the soundtrack slaps. Recommended. 

[Darryk]

12 hours ago, polishgenius said:

I haven't played it, but I got Northgard for my Settlers III-fan brother and he enjoyed it. Supposedly trends a bit more towards RTS stuff than Settlers, but still close enough that a lot of people saw it as a spiritual successor of sorts when Settlers was fucking about.

That looks fantastic but I'd rather wait until winter to play it. It'\s boiling down here currently and that'll ruin the atmosphere.

[Werthead]

22 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

Frostpunk 

With the weather we're having in the Midwest, I was thinking it's the right game to play. 

There are many, many things that Frostpunk can be called but "relaxed" is absolutely not one of them.

Oddly coincidentally:

 

[Corvinus85]

55 minutes ago, Werthead said:

There are many, many things that Frostpunk can be called but "relaxed" is absolutely not one of them.

Oddly coincidentally:

 

The first one was challenging enough, this looks to greatly surpass it.

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II]

Will we ever get Warcraft 4 so I can play another RTS game again…..Microsoft needs to force blizzard to make one now.

[Ran]

32 minutes ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Will we ever get Warcraft 4 so I can play another RTS game again…..Microsoft needs to force blizzard to make one now.

 

[Darryk]

6 hours ago, Ser Rodrigo Belmonte II said:

Will we ever get Warcraft 4 so I can play another RTS game again…..Microsoft needs to force blizzard to make one now.

I don't see them ever deviating from World of Warcraft as the seat of their Warcraft lore.

Especially since anyone who played Warcraft III but not WoW wouldn't have a clue what's going on story-wise.

[Tongue Stuck to Wall]

31 minutes ago, Darryk said:

I don't see them ever deviating from World of Warcraft as the seat of their Warcraft lore.

Especially since anyone who played Warcraft III but not WoW wouldn't have a clue what's going on story-wise.

I've been playing since the first Warcraft and I have no idea what's going on other than Anduin now looks like Casey Affleck.

[polishgenius]

New 2D (metroidvania) Prince of Persia drops tomorrow, but my local shop had it out early. So I've started that.


First impressions, which pretty much follow what we expected from the trailers, is that it's going for a 'Metroid Dread but with melee combat' feel, and it looks like it's nailed it. Very smooth.