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omnibused · 1 year

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Hello! For ask thingy, 50. Whats your favorite games and why? ^^

Ohh, boy. That's a big question for a little ask, 'cause I risk going nostalgic or diving into lore, haha! I'm a big fan of retro/retro style boomer shooters for burning off steam, and the Legend of Zelda series, and it just gets more convoluted from there. For the sake of brevity, I'll keep it to my more modern favorites~

First and foremost, I love stuff with deep lore. I cannot overstate that, I'm collecting and reading every single journal/codex/information entry the game provides and reading them all. If there are companion books, they're going into my collection at home, too.

If I had to narrow it down to a few:

The Talos Principle ~ Combining my love of a challenging logic puzzle with deep lore and a good story, this one blew me away with its overarching story once I realized it wasn't just a series of challenging puzzles; choices matter! Highly recommend this one to anyone who likes slowly unraveling a story bit by bit, and being left a little speechless at the end.

(cut, 'cause long post warning)

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice ~ A beautiful meeting of history and creative story telling, the main character is a vulnerable young woman processing mental illness and trauma; she's incredibly relatable. I was really impressed with the developers consulting and involving people who suffer the same illness as the main character at every step of the development process, so it's handled with dignity and grace. Gorgeous, gorgeous game!

The Elder Scrolls Series ~ This one's had its ups and downs over the years, but I've been with it since Daggerfall, so I feel obligated to give it a mention. Not every entry in the series is a winner, but the overarching lore is deep, and (usually) well written and substantiated.

The Mass Effect Series ~ My love for history and lore, sci-fi/fantasy, combat strategy, and an epic adventure all rolled into one. I find myself returning to this one every couple years to relive the story, try something else, and generally just appreciate it for the heroic tale it is.

Last and absolutely the most...

The Dragon Age Series ~ I literally cannot say enough good things about the game series itself. It's one I play yearly, at least. I mean, sure it has its flaws here and there, but, playing Origins for the first time was a breath of fresh air - I'd never played an RPG that ticked all the best boxes about an enjoyable game. The lore is deep and unique (please, please give us more on dwarves already, though), and always makes for a great read. I love that the characters are actually complex and multifaceted, no one's purely a saint, no one purely a sinner - it can be polarizing, for sure, but I love myself a good character discussion. I've got all the comics, novelizations, and companion books on my shelf.

I have a framed map of Thedas on my living room wall, if that tells you the depth of my love. 😅

Honorable Mentions: Cyberpunk 2077, DOOM, The Amnesia Series, Dead Space Series, Resident Evil Series, and Final Fantasy XIV (only 14 though, I literally do not like a single other FF game, lol)

#ask meme #SORRY FOR WRITING A NOVEL BUT THANK YOU!!!#the talos principle #hellblade #the elder scrolls #mass effect #DRAGON AGE #cyberpunk 2077 #these tags are a mess #oops

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theseventhoffrostfall · 2 years

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Look yes objectively Destiny 2 is not a good game. But I got it for free and you can load it and immediately just jump in and shoot stuff and when I don't want to commit to an RPG sometimes I just like shooting things. And I'll give credit where credit's due, outside of dumb tuning/balance stuff, Bungie makes an amazingly crisp and fluid shooter that actually feels fun just to "play."

All that being said, their new season is basically 1970s French Sci Fi space pirates vibes and it's fucking great. Really wish we'd get fun colorful sci fi again. Valerian whatever had some gorgeous visuals but the plot and acting was awful. But I get to try and make my guy a space pirate captain as much as I can in a world where my human-brain-converted-to-a-robot-and-is-now-a-magic-slinging-space-battlemage/magicknight can't wear a headband and rock a killer mustache holding a Jody Samson looking sabre.

Also I cannot actually recommend Flash Gordon nor Ice Pirates save to say I enjoy them as very guilty pleasures and love the aesthetics (first 2 are game shots including aforementioned battlemage in what I will probably wear for the season, last one is basically the pinnacle of human aesthetics)

The I played the campaign during a free weekend, didn't like the writing or lore at all, and when I later got it when it went free to play and it jumped me past being able to ease back into it and shoved me into a max-level character, I realized that max level gameplay sucks. It's got strong art design on everything except the player characters, but that's all it has going for it

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sirbadgerduke · 3 years

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Retrospective Thought: Top Ten Games of The Year 2020

Another year, another batch of games have been released to highs and lows, to praise and woes. 2020 May have sucked big time due to COVID and restless political protesting/outrage, the selection of games have been pretty good if a bit middling overall, especially with the beginning of a new Console Generation. Here’s my top ten games of the year, titles I adored and had a blast with. 10) Cyberpunk 2077(PS4/XBOXONE/PC)

A bit of a controversial choice considering the dialogue surrounding it and CD Projekt RED. Needless to say that while it’s downright buggy and unplayable on the base PS4/XBONE versions, Cyberpunk 2077 is still a stellar Immersive Sim with RPG elements thrown in. A great story and a great cast of characters set within a sometimes gorgeous map make up for many of the “shortcomings/Broken promises'' in my honest and trivial opinion. Gameplay is solid/fun whilst needing some fine tuning in areas here and there and the music is top notch to boot. I’d honestly have to recommend getting this later on, after the major big patch coming in Feb as hopefully the bugs and glitches will be cleared(hopefully) by then. Still a great, memorable ride underneath the bugs, glitches and weird design choices, just be cautious if you plan to get it now.

9) Resident Evil 3 Remake(PS4/XBOXONE/PC)

While not quite as fantastic as the Resident Evil 2 Remake and mirroring similarities to the comparison between both original titles, Resident Evil 3 is still a really great Survival Horror Action title in its own right. Obviously it’s focus is definitely more on the action side of things, but while RE5/6 failed to even have a glimmer of horror, here RE3R still has a level of sheer terror in the form of Nemesis both in the beginning and in key moments. Nemesis himself, whilst in the background more than he was in the original, adds a layer of paranoia and dread as you think about where he’ll pop up again ready to take you out. Worth a check if you like the original RE3 game in my opinion.

8) Maneater(PS4/XBOXONE/PC)

A “Megashark Sim” game that could easily be mistaken for a long lost 2005 PS2 game remake or remaster for the PS4/XBONE Generation. Maneater is just pure, unadulterated dumb fun. Growing from tiger shark pup to Megalodon Tier Mega Shark, whilst a little repetitive every so often, is chaotically great, one that really makes you feel like the Apex Predator of the ocean, especially when you take down shark hunters with ease. The story is portrayed as this Reality Show, narrated by Chris Parnum, it takes itself serious enough with some earnest sincerity. If you’re looking for a good mayhem filled fun, pick this title up.

7) Doom Eterna(PS4/XBOXONE/PC/NS

Sequel to the sublime 2016 Reboot, Doom Eternal is one of the best Boomer FPS games to come out in 2020, if not THE best FPS game. An FPS that requires your attention to what weapon you are using and what enemies are currently hunting you down during a hectic gunfight, it often plays both like a Character Action and Puzzle title in equal measure. Continuing and expanding upon the story from the 2016 title, the lore and plot itself go into some both equally dumb and badass levels of nuttery you can only find in Doom. If you love old school shooters and Doom 2016, check it out if you want to rip and tear demons into a pulpy, bloody mess.

6) Final Fantasy 7: ReMake(PS4)

I haven’t played the original so my experience may be very different to those that have. I enjoyed this title more than I thought I would; from the combat down to the even the music(a strong point of many Final Fantasy games good or bad.)and the story itself is a rather great romp. The Characters, the art style, it all hits the checkmarks I look for in a Final Fantasy game and then some. While it’s not my favourite Final Fantasy, it's definitely in my top tier, even down to the combat which is both really stylish and flashy whilst maintaining a level of tact from the games in the series of yonder. Definitely worth a check out if you’re a fan of Final Fantasy games. 5) One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4(PS4/XBOXONE/PC/NS)

Aah, Musou titles that take an IP and franchise, gives it that Dynasty Warriors coat of paint and goes “that’ll do!” are a treat when done well. PW4 is one such title that does it super well, even to the point of introducing the Manga’s/Anime’s staple Giant Characters as authentic as they can do. What is left is a rather fun, meaty and character varied Musou title that isn’t just “DW but X” like certain others are(cough cough, Fire Emblem Musou). The fact that both Kaido and Big Mom are both playable with their forms makes me so glad that this particular Musou franchise is going strong. Huge recommendation if you’re a OP fan.

4) Nioh 2(PS4)

I adored the first Nioh title a lot; it’s locales, characters, weapon selection, enemy variety, etc. Nioh 2 is essentially “Nioh 1 but an actual budget behind it” and I’m here for it. Both a prequel and a sequel to the previous title, you play as a Shiftling, a half yokai/half human as you set out to track down the Yokai that slew your mother. Mission structure, enemy variety and level design has been improved by a huge margin, surprisingly whilst combat is granted with more options and a wider selection of weapon styles to test out with many QoL improvements that help to keep your attention firm and focus on the build you want to go for. 3) 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim(PS4)

Oh boy, where to start with this one helluva trip of a title. Half Visual Novel and half RTS, Aegis Rim is a big Sci-Fi mecha romp definitely worth the praise and more. When I mean a Sci-Fi Romp I absolutely mean it too, not to spoil the plot or story of the game but I’ll just say it never lets up and goes 100% hard into the themes and concepts it presents to you. The RTS side of it is also super fun as a simple yet deep system with plenty of ways to upgrade your sentinels and plenty of ways to fight Kaiju. I honestly would like to go into further but that’s spoiler territory, trust me and get it for yourself.

2) Ghost of Tsushima(PS4)

Another “Samurai” game only less fantastical and more grounded, taking part in an Era of Japanese history many media don’t often go. Not much left to say due to a previous review of this title but here is the surmised version; a fantastic and gorgeous title that takes elements of various other titles and improves on them whilst a surprisingly well done story of honour, vengeance and protection wraps it up in a neat, tidy package that also includes a surprisingly fun Multiplayer component. 1) Yakuza: Like a Dragon(PS4/XBOXONE/XBXS/PC)

Aah, the Yakuza franchise, a franchise spanning more than ten games which includes remakes, spin offs and prequels. A new protagonist, a new setting and even a new combat system with a story beginning a new journey that will hopefully be of quality as Kiryu’s. There’s a lot to say that a series that changes and shakes its foundation in a way that would’ve been too risky for others to even attempt, is attempted by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios and met with success and love.Yakuza 7 presents both it’s protagonist and story in a parallel of Kiryu and the first game but offering a different path and take. Kiryu is a legend, a sorta “god” if you will in the Yakuza underworld, whilst Ichiban is a nobody, a rung in a low level family and whilst Kiryu is a one man army who will fight with conviction and resolve, Ichiban has a party, friends who will pick him up and push him forward if he ever falters. A review is in the works in which I will go into more detail of just why Yakuza: Like a Dragon is my Number One GOTY of 2020.

And there’s my list of the greats of last years(arguably lol) , a shitty year that surprisingly wasn’t a total train wreck of releases, hopefully 2021 fairs much better with many great releases planned fixes for certain titles.

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venusmages · 3 years

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Cyberpunk 2077 non-spoiler review

Anyways here’s my writeup about my least favorite parts of 2077 for people who are interested in seeing if it’s for them. Both going to talk about content as well as gameplay. This is for PC version, too, because I know last gen consoles are suffering terribly rn and I wouldn’t recommend the game if you’re not going to be playing on PC. At least not until it’s on sale or the issues have been resolved. It really, really shouldn’t have been released on last gen consoles at all in my opinion - or at least should’ve been released on consoles LATER.

If you like Saints Row, GTA, Mass Effect, Shadowrun, or the Cyberpunk genre in general - I definitely think this is something you might want to take a peek at! I wasn’t anticipating the game until about a month or two before release - so maybe that’s why I’m having a blast - but It’s one of my favorite stories from the past decade as far as sci-fi goes. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, and It’s really impressed me. I can’t even go into detail about all the things I LOVE because I really want folks to experience it themselves. Just know there’s a very intricately detailed world, all the characters are memorable and insanely well realized and complex, and the story is great fun. Also made me cry like 5 times. It’s become one of my FAVORITE games very quickly.

I’d also recommend Neon Arcade if you want someone who’s been covering the game for quite a while, including the technical and game industry aspect. He does well to go into some detail and even though he’s a fan, I’ve found him to be largely unbiased. I’m not going to go into industry politics here because I feel that’s up for everyone to decide on their own terms.

No spoilers, things to keep in mind, content warnings, etc. below!

CONTENT WARNINGS and issues with plot/story

this setting is dark. very dark. if you struggle stomaching things like dystopian landscapes, body horror, physical, mental and sexual abuse, corporate and gang violence, abuse of children, harsh language, and concepts that mess with the perception of reality - this game might not be for you. It’s a very mature setting, and I don’t mean that in the Adult Swim kind of way. I mean it in the ‘oh shit, it went there’ way. In my opinion I haven’t run across anything in it that was handled distastefully when it dipped into the depressing, but dark and gritty isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and I wanted to give a disclaimer.

The game’s universe in advertising and working for the lower class also exploits sex/sex work quite a bit. This is part of the lore itself because in this universe everyone’s become desensitized to sex and violence to the point that marketing embraces it and makes it ridiculous. I feel it’s very obvious that it doesn’t condone this message and is instead a commentary on consumerism - but people still might be uncomfortable seeing a lot of suggestive stuff all over the place regardless.

Women in game are naked more often than men - even though there is nudity for both. This is likely a mix of appealing to the Gamer Boy demographic (even though the story does NOT actually), or the fact that media is way more cool with seeing naked women than seeing full frontal nudity on men. They probably had to tone some of it down to avoid going above an M rating.

The story is amazing, but sometimes it dumps a lot onto you at once. It’s one of those sci-fi stories that you have to really be following the names, faces, and concepts continually to get it all down. There’s a lot of betrayal, background players, etc. I think by the mid-way point I’d mostly had it, but It’s pretty dense. However it’s still amazing. You might just need two playthroughs before every tiny detail clicks - because there’s a LOT of details.

Honestly I think it would help to read up on the lore first so you’re not going ‘what’ constantly. But people have seemed to manage fine without that also! Neon Arcade has a really nice series of videos (like 2 or 3) that get you up to speed with the universe. It also helps you decide if the tone is right for you.

I think the main story should’ve been longer, also. I don’t mind a 20 hr story, especially in a massive RPG, but It feels like they really struggled to cram as much into that time frame as possible. It skirts the edge of being nice and concise, snappy, and tight - and needing just a few more moments to take a breath and wait a second. This is helped if you do a lot of side quests.

The straight male romance option, River, is INCREDIBLY well written but he doesn’t tie into the main plot in any way whatsoever. It’s very strange and feels like they either ran out of time with him, or slapped together a romance with him at the last second. All the other romances at least know what’s going on with V’s story - meanwhile River has no idea, and you can never tell him. He’s an amazing guy though and I highly recommend his questline. He appears in ACT 2.

In general I’d say not to bother with the romances. There are only 4 total, and while the romancible characters on their own are really well written, the romances themselves are just kinda meh. One romance you don’t even meet until act 3. I don’t think they should’ve been included in the game at all, because they definitely don’t feel as fleshed out as everything else.

CDPR also sometimes forget that women players or gay men exist. Panam and Judy have a lot more content than River and Kerry for example. I don’t think this is intentional, they just have a large fanbase of dudebros. It only shows in the romance content and the nudity thing though.

Johnny, Takemura, and Claire should’ve been romances and I will fight to the death on that.

There are gay and trans characters in the game and their stories don’t revolve around their sexualities. It’s very Fallout: New Vegas in it’s approach to characters: IE. you’re going to love them. All of them.

V’s gender isn’t locked to their body type or their genitals- but to to their voice. I don’t think it’s the best solution they could’ve used but given how the game is heavily voice acted I assume that was what they had to work with.

Some of the romances are locked to both cis voices AND body types (not genitals if I recall but body shapes). That’s disappointing but I assume it was because of scripted scene issues and/or ignorance on the dev’s part considering the LGBT NPCS are so AMAZINGLY done. There’s no homophobic or transphobic language in the game - though there are gendered curse words and insults if that bothers you.

Some characters MAY suffer from ‘bilingual people don’t talk like that’ syndrome. But it can be hard to say for sure given that translators exist in this universe and the way they operate aren’t fully described. It’s only momentarily distracting, not enough to take away from how charming the NPCs are.

The endings are really good don’t get me wrong but I want fix it fic :(. All of the endings out of like 6 (?) in the game are bittersweet.

Both gender V’s are very good but female V’s voice acting is out of this world. If you don’t know what voice to go with/are neutral I’d highly recommend female V. Male V is charming and good but he feels much more monotone compared to female V.

V has their own personality. To some this won’t be a detractor - but a lot of people thought they’d be making absolutely everything from the ground up. V is more of a commander shepard or geralt than a skyrim or d&d pc, if that makes sense. You can customize and influence them to a HUGE degree, some aspects of V will always be the same.

Streetkid is the most boring background - at least for it’s introduction/prologue.

GAMEPLAY/TECHNICAL

If you can run your game on ultra, don’t. It actually looks best with a mix of high and medium settings. Unless you have a beast that has ray-tracing - then by all means use ray tracing and see how absolutely insanely good it looks.

There are color blind modes for the UI, but not for some of the AI/Netrunning segments in cutscenes. Idk how much this will effect folks with colorblindness but those segments are thankfully short.

There was an issue with braindances being an epilepsy trigger because for some reason they decided to mirror the flashing pattern after real epilepsy tests - probably because it ‘looks cool’. I don’t have epilepsy but it even hurt my eyes and gave me a headache. Massive oversight and really goddamn weird. Thankfully this was fixed.

There is no driving AI. Like at all. If you leave your car in the street the traffic is just going to pile up behind it. It’s one of the very few immersion breaking things I’ve encountered.

Sometimes when an NPC is driving with you in the car, they’ll drive on the curb and/or run into people. It’s kind of funny but can occasionally result in something weird. Feels very GTA - but nothing excruciating.

The camera angle feels a little too low in first person mode when driving on cars. You get used to it though.

The police in this game feel slapped on and I hope they improve it. Right now if you commit a crime, you can never tell what will actually trigger it. And if you just run away a few blocks the police forget about it.

Bikes are just way more fun to ride than the cars are.

You CANNOT respec your character after you make them. Ever. it sucks. Go in with an idea ahead of time what you wanna do - it’s better than being a jack of all trades.

as of now you also CANNOT change their appearance after you exit the character creator. This, also, sucks. Make sure you REALLY like your V or you’re gonna be replaying the openings over and over like I did.

Photomode on PC is the N key. Had to look it up. The mode itself is great though

Shooting and Mele fighting feel pretty standard. I don’t have a lot of shooter experience besides Bethesda games so anything feels better than that to me. So far I’ve enjoyed stealth and mele the best, but that’s just my own taste! The combat and driving aren’t groundbreaking by any means, but they’re still very fun. I look forward to running at people with swords or mantis blades, and zipping around the city on a motorcycle to see the sights. The story, lore, and interesting quests and characters are the real draw here.

I haven’t encountered any game breaking bugs in 80-ish hours of play time. One or two T-poses, a few overlays not loading or floating objects - but nothing terrible. Again, my experience is with Bethesda games. This is all usually fixed by either opening your inventory and closing it again, or exiting out and reloading your save.

The C button is mapped for crouching AND skipping dialogue by default. That’s terrible. Change it in the settings to be HOLDING C skips dialogue and you’ll be gucci.

There’s apparently a crafting system. I have never been inclined to touch it. But I also play on easy like a pleb so IDK how it all scales otherwise.

The mirror reflections can be a little bit weird, at least on my end. They always end up a teeny bit grainy despite my computer being able to run everything on Ultra Max. You can still get good screens out of it though!

So many people text me to sell me cars and I want them to stop. Please. also the texting menu is abysmal. The rest is ok tho

It’s pretty clear when you’re going to go into a ‘cutscene’. all cutscenes are rendered in-engine BUT you often will be talking to other characters at a specific angle or setting. The game locks you into this usually by having you sit down. It works for me - after all we do a lot of sitting- but it IS very obvious that it’s a way for the game to get you in the frame it wants to display.

That’s all I can think of rn! If you’re interested but wanted to get a slightly better idea of whats going on, I hope this helps. I’m really enjoying it and despite my issues it’s exceeding my expectations. I’m going to be thinking about and replaying this game for quite a while.

#cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk 2077 review #2077 review #cp2077 #rosetxt #txt

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pi-creates · 3 years

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Hey Pi!!! So far I really liked games you mentioned like King's Quest and TFTB so I'm curious would you like to recommend any other? :D

Depends on what you’re into, anon. And you’ll have to keep in mind I’m mostly talking from a PC perspective, I’m always behind in terms of consoles.

If you’re in to story-telling without heavy gameplay:

I adore Oxenfree. Which is basically a 2.5D game that is a little bit horror, a little bit puzzle solving, and mostly about making dialogue choices to determine your ending. As for the story, you play as Alex, a girl in her last year of high school as she goes to an overnight beach party on an island with her friends. Spooky shenanigans happen. (This game does have some death and suicide related topics/imagery, so be aware of that if that’s something that you’re sensitive to)

For something even more puzzle heavy, there is the Zero Escape series of games. I remember playing the first game on the DS, but the full series is available on PC now. This is another horror-ish game that involves clicking on locations in a room to find objects and solve puzzles. The story revolves around your character waking up inside a locked room with no idea how they got there, and no idea how to get out. The problem happens to be much bigger than just one room, as you find yourself pulled in to a game where breaking the rules, being too slow, or failing a puzzle, will result in a very quick, and very explosive end. (This game also features blood and death)

Then if you’re in the mood for something chill and just fun - I love the Katamari Damacy games. Just... roll the ball. Roll the ball and make it a bigger ball. Roll up the fish and watch them be all wiggly. The story isn’t important, though it is wildly bizarre. Just lose yourself in the absurdity and the music.

Or if you’re in to more gameplay heavy games:

I will always recommend the Dragon Age series of games if you like RPGs. If you’re into fantasy settings with elves, dwarves, mages, dragons and world-ending calamities, then this will be right up your alley. I love it. The games are massive, there’s plenty of side missions to explore, your decisions are important, and the characters are just... I love them. I love the 2nd game the least - but god damn, I still love it. Even if every single one of these games broke my heart.

On a similar vein, If you like sci-fi games with aliens and a little bit of shooting, the Mass Effect games are good too. The original trilogy anyway... though the ending is... well... infamous for being not great. But to put it simply, if you like interacting with the characters, and you like a big universe where your actions have consequences, then you’ll probably like the Mass Effect games.

Then there are the Persona games. I personally haven’t played the first 2 games in the series, but each game is self-contained so you can pick up any and roll with it. If you aren’t familiar, these games are half about your characters social interactions and school life, and half about battling through dungeons full of shadows. The actual threat you’re facing changes between games, but 3, 4, and 5 are all definitely very good games. Also very long games... so be prepared for a long haul.

If you want to play Persona 3, I would recommend getting the PSP version (Persona 3 Portable) since that adds the option to pick the female protagonist - and regardless of whether you usually play these game as male or female, the female route is more enjoyable to play. It balances things out better in my opinion since it lets you befriend more characters in your immediate team.

And I do also enjoy the Borderlands games - though they can be kinda hit or miss. If you like shooters, and don’t mind some silly or crass humour, then it might be worth a go. Though I won’t lie, the story and humour can sometimes be too much for me too. It just depends on whether you are capable of ignoring the bad parts and enjoying the rest of the experience. And annoyingly, they have some damn good writing at parts, and so it’s frustrating when most of the good stuff is hidden behind a boner joke.

Or if you want to go a little old-school and try one of my favourites from a long time ago... Psychonauts. This isn’t a choice heavy thing, but it’s super quirky and creative. Basically, you play as Raz, a little boy who ran away from the circus to join a summer camp for psychics. You then go on adventures inside people’s heads and try to unlock a secret going on at the campgrounds. Very fun - but you’ll probably need a controller for this one since there’s quite a bit of platforming.

And that’s all I can think of off the top of my head...

#there are so many games #but so many that i just can't think off right now #and dating sims...#but that's probably a bigger topic full of trigger warnings #still #this was fun to type out

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killscreencinema · 3 years

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The Outer Worlds (PS4)

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Even in space you can’t escape the claws of corporate greed and rampant capitalism gone amuck!

Such is the case in The Outer Worlds, developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Take-Two Interactive in 2019, where you play as a mysterious “stranger”, thawed out of cryogenic stasis on a lost colony ship by a mad scientist named Phineas Wells, who barely introduces himself before dispatching you to an exotic world named Terra 2. Here you begin your quest either to help Dr. Welles shake off the chains of corporate tyranny that has run down the colony of the Halcyon star system or you can choose to assist “The Board” in catching the fugitive scientist and reestablishing its authority.

The Outer Worlds is kind of a mash-up of several sci-fi fantasy properties, most notably Joss Whedon’s Firefly, with a cup of Star Wars, a tablespoon of Mass Effect, with a big ol’ heaping of BioShock folded in for good measure. That’s not to say it’s a ripoff of those things so much as a loving homage that manages to use those influences to create its own universe.

Okay, well, your socially awkward engineer, Parvarti, who speaks in politely educated, old west vernacular is straight up Kaylee from Firefly but still not a ripoff!

Okay, well, there’s the preacher on your ship, Vicar Max, who may or may not have been an expertly trained assassin and secret agent in a former life, just like Shepard Book in Firefly, but still not a ripoff!

Anyway, I do enjoy the art direction and aesthetics of The Outer Worlds, which has the “steam punky” yet futuristic vibe of BioShock, mixed with the obnoxious inundation of advertising by all the corporate factions vying for your attention and you hard earned “bits”. Say what you will about advertising, but that’s when you know humanity has reached the final frontier - when the well-lit billboards and signs start going up all over space. That kind of stuff does make these sci-fi universes feel “lived in”. It’s one of many reasons I love the show Cowboy Bebop - the future it depicts seems realistic and believable because it’s not really that far removed from our present, to point of including commercials, tacky eye sore ads everywhere, etc.

I digress - The Outer Worlds is a first-person shooter, with RPG elements similar to the Fallout games. The game also has that really annoying RPG element of having to constantly clean out your inventory from the constant crap that you loot from vanquished foes, shipping containers, and random safes that you can crack if your lockpicking skills are high enough. This shit in particular really reminds me of the first Mass Effect, which often felt like I spent more time in the menu equipping new weapons and armor than actually playing the game. Thankfully, becoming over-encumbered is rarely an issue as the game gives you a pretty generous weight threshold, but you will still have to eventually halt everything to offload all the useless crap that has accumulated in your inventory.

The combat is twitchy, FPS style fighting but your character has the ability to slow down time in order to fire precise shots at vulnerable enemy spots. I found this “Tactical Time Dilation”, or TTD, to be a useless waste of a mechanic as your character slows down along with the enemy, making it rather pointless and annoying. There are “perks” your character can earn to make you slightly move faster while using TTD, but not enough to make it worth using a lot in my opinion.

The majority of the story plays out via dialogue trees, and this is where I derived a lot of fun from The Outer Worlds, as you can opt to give your character low intelligence, which opens up “Dumb” dialogue options. I can’t recommend this option enough, as the way characters react to your dumb responses is hilarious, and ultimately leads to an optional secret ending for the game. Using the dumb dialogue options made me feel like I was playing the game as an “Ash Williams” type hero - tough, effective, and cunning in his own way, but ultimately kind of an idiot who bumbles into victory. It really made the game all the more compelling for me, because I happen to love characters like that.

While overall I enjoyed The Outer Worlds, I was also disappointed by how the universe of the game didn’t feel very expansive. You only travel to a handful of worlds, and even then, you’re relegated to a small patch of the planet. A game like this should feel more epic, kind of like No Man’s Sky, but still a functional game (yeah, I know, the update makes it supposedly better but you get my point). There are worlds on your map you NEVER get to visit, except via DLC, but even then you travel to a space station in orbit above that world that looks like every OTHER space station. So in summary, for a game called The Outer Worlds, I found the lack of variety in said worlds to be deflating. This isn’t helped by how often the same character models, with the same exact haircuts, and odd smirks, is recycled throughout the game. Do all of these characters go to the same barber or what?

Ultimately, these are all minor gripes compared to my biggest complaint of all - the loading times. Jesus and Mary, the loading times are the worst. When I signed up to be a console gamer in the great “Console vs PC Wars”, I knew I was going to have to deal with loading screens, but The Outer Worlds is ridiculous. I actually dreaded going into my ship, or transitioning to another map, because I knew I’d have to sit through a nearly 1-minute long loading screen every goddamn time. It’s unacceptable even by console standards and I understand it’s not much better on PC.

If you can get over obnoxious loading times, though, The Outer Worlds is worth a playthrough, especially if you’re a fan of the sci-fi genre.

#the outer worlds #obsidian entertainment #ps4 #playtation 4 #sony #take two interactive #scifi #firefly #star wars #bioshock #mass effect

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out-of-this-dimension · 4 years

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Some Thoughts on Star Fox as a Series

Disclaimer: This is a post mostly focusing on the gaming aspect of Star Fox, not really the lore and characters. I think when a lot of people in the fandom talk about the series’s future, they hone in on the story and characters but I wanted to talk more or less about the series as games, not really as a story.

I remember when the first rumors of Star Fox Grand Prix came out and I was frankly a bit bummed. I’m very lukewarm on racing games in general, having only really enjoyed Wave Race, Mario Kart, and Diddy Kong Racing out of the few I’ve tried out. I wanted a follow up to Zero, since I felt dissatisfied by it overall. I felt like it was halfway done and that it failed to breathe in that bit of life into the series that was desperately needed. A racing game for the series felt... really weird, and part of it still does, but the more I dwelled on it, the more I realized that... sure, Grand Prix wasn’t what anyone had expected but maybe it wasn’t a bad thing?

And then, funnily enough, I thought back when I was a kid and when Star Fox Adventures came out. A lot of people were very upset. I was not one of them because I had been immersed at a very young age to the idea that some games in certain series just play differently. Mario was always bopping between tennis, racing, party games, 2D platforming, RPG style gameplay, and 3D adventure jams. Donkey Kong went from throwing barrels to 2D platforming to racing and to having his own 3D adventure. Kirby went from 2D platforming to racing and even to fighting games. It made sense to me that Fox McCloud could do the same. And that leads me to my main “point” of this post.

I think it’s perfectly okay for the Star Fox series to step away from the spaceship shooter genre.

Don’t get me wrong-- I know that the heart of the series we’ve seen so far has been a on-rails shooting or all-range mode shooting. But I think sometimes we (using this loosely for certain bits of the fandom) hyper fixate on Star Fox needing to be based on vehicular combat and maybe that sort of mentality is still the result of backlash from Adventures all of those years ago. A lot of Star Fox fans were upset because of Adventures because it didn’t stick to their expectations of what would naturally evolve after SF64. And they were absolutely correct to be surprised and maybe a bit upset (some people took it overboard but I applaud their passion, I guess). Star Fox Adventures was not the natural sequel to the beloved SF64. Assault fit the bill for that, building upon on-foot fighting teased in the Versus mode of SF64 and going back to a rails/all-ranged mode series of levels rather than a more open and explorable world.

That being said, I don’t... necessarily think that Star Fox Adventures was a mistake or a bad idea. In fact, I actually think that an adventure-style subseries would work really well for Star Fox as a franchise. In fact, I think there’s a lot they could do with the series in terms of branching out from the typical on-rails style spaceship shooter. Having a racing game with a story and with boss fights (like what was rumored of Grand Prix) actually sounds like the fun Diddy Kong Racing sequel everyone kinda wanted. Sure, Adventures was put together in a very rushed fashion, but why not actually invest in adventure-style series of games for Fox McCloud? He’s a mercenary, after all, and I doubt every mission he takes is going to be able to be done in his Arwing.

“But Star Fox isn’t a big IP. Why bother reinventing the series as something beyond its genre when it’s not a big IP?”

That is true. It’s not a huge IP but it is a legacy IP, one that Miyamoto has stated he’d love to do more with. And honestly? I kind of wonder if branching out the genre would garner more interest in the series from potential consumers. Not everyone is really into the spaceship shooter genre and that’s fine. I think with some innovation, maybe branching out in the genre department a bit, and decent marketing and the Star Fox series could honestly be twice as big as it is now. It has the potential to market to a lot of different fans-- furries, sci-fi nerds, flight sim fans, general Nintendo fans, etc.

“But Star Fox is supposed to be a spaceship shooter game! That’s the heart of the series!”

And I get that, in the same way that stomping Goombas is Mario’s staple. Star Fox can still have those types of titles in the series. But I’d rather see the series evolve and thrive rather than cling onto what it’s traditionally been and the fans getting a half-baked game once every half decade or so. I think much in the way that the gaming world has changed, Star Fox as a series has dug its heels into the ground in terms of gameplay and it needs a chance to breathe and grow. I don’t think there’s been much growth for the series from a pure gameplay standpoint since Assault and that was 3 generations ago. I want to add that I’m talking purely based on gameplay-- I’m not commenting at all on story or on character portrayal.

Two extreme games that I think highlight what I’m trying to say are Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey. Of course these are both huge IPs for Nintendo and they received a lot of care. But if you look at the gameplay, what they did was take the basics and let them grow, adding a few new mechanics to those specific games within the series for variety’s sake. Assault did it similarly, particularly with vehicle swapping. But... really, after Assault, I feel like we saw a step back. Command obviously was limited by its console. Zero has virtually no excuse in my book being 2 console generations after Assault and seeing nothing more than finnicky controls and a return to SF64 form... and with no versus mode to boot (still salty about that, don’t mind me).

“But is it a Star Fox game if it doesn’t have flying/on rails combat in it?”

Yes. The answer is yes. Because Star Fox isn’t about flying space ships. There’s a billion games that will let you fly ships. But them having flying ships does not make them the same thing as a Star Fox game. Star Fox is about the charm-- the fun banter between teammates, a world full of goofy sci-fi tropes with very quotable dialogue, and fun, quirky animal friends.

And just because a Star Fox game isn’t purely on rails flying combat doesn’t mean it can’t have a nod or two.

“Okay, but if you want them to just make different genre games for Star Fox, why not just have Nintendo make a new IP entirely?”

New IPs are always a gamble and we know through the development of various games that Nintendo puts a LOT of work into making new IPs. If you haven’t looked at the development of Splatoon on Wii U, I really recommend it. It really shows why we don’t get many new IPs from Nintendo-- they’re super picky and they super wanna make sure that the IP will land on its feet successfully.

Star Fox is, again, a legacy IP and people know the characters. That’s actually pretty huge because then you’re not having to market an entirely new cast.

Starlink was a huge indicator that people want to see the Star Fox characters again. The game may have sold poorly overall but the Switch sales were remarkably high compared to the other consoles and I’m 99% sure it’s because of brand familiarity and the Star Fox team.

“Okay, okay, so you want Star Fox to evolve. But what do you want to see?”

Honestly? Something good. Anything good. Nothing that’s limited by the idea of what a Star Fox game “should” be. I am a big believer in not stifling creativity and that extends to the gaming world as well. I don’t want to see another rebranded SF64. I want to see something they make with an honest, passionate heart, even if it’s something as outlandish as a Star Fox dating sim or even a Star Fox crossover with POKEMON or KIRBY or PIKMIN or... or anything else that sounds absolutely wacko.

I just want a good game made with love that respects the series and doesn’t try to confine it.

Anyways THANKS FOR READING MY TED TALK

#fandom talk #star fox #starfox #star fox adventures #starfox adventures #long post

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leonkenedy · 3 years

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This might be a dumb question but I was wondering if Mass Effect is worth playing? Do you recommend it? (You were the first person I thought about when I saw the game)

hello hi thank you!!

I would definitely say it's worth playing, it has a really amazing story across the three games and the characters are all amazingly written for the most part. If you like sci fi and you like rpgs then I think it will be for you, even still, it's still a shooter also so there's that element

there are of course some issues with the games because this is bioware/ea we're on about here which I'm sure you can probably find posts about but overall I think the games are a really great experience (also everyone likes to shit on andromeda but it's a great game too)

#jessie answers mail #anon #3 is my fav then 2 then 1 #I actually got a bug in 1 and skipped it the first time but it is a decently good story from what I remember #I haven't played them in sooooo long

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videogametim · 4 years

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My Top 10 Games of 2019

It was pretty hard to narrow down the list this year. 2019 was a lot stronger for video games than 2018 and I feel a LOT more confidant about my picks and GOTY choice. In addition, there were also a lot of indie games not mentioned here that I think I will highlight in another post a bit later. For now, here’s the Top 10.

10. Sayonara Wild Hearts (Simogo)

Sayonara Wild Hearts is something special. Although clocking in rather short at just under an hour long, I would best describe the game as an Album Video Game. Each of the game’s 23 or so levels has its own song. The actual gameplay consists of mostly on-rails segments where you have basic movement and avoid obstacles and collect pickups to boost your score, but every level has a unique take on that concept with major climax levels being full tracks with vocals. It’s incredibly stylistic and tells a heartwarming story about dealing with heartbreak. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys musical games.

9. Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Intelligent Systems)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the first game in the series that managed to grab me. It’s a very competent tactical RPG with one of my favourite casts of characters this year (especially the Black Eagles house). I was consistently impressed the most with just the sheer amount of content and detail that went into it. An unnecessarily large amount of the dialogue is voiced, the second half of each of the three selectable house’s routes are totally unique, and each route takes around 60 hours to complete. I really never thought a Fire Emblem game would be my new most played game on the Switch by a mile but here we are.

8. AI: The Somnium Files (Spike Chunsoft)

Kotaro Uchikoshi’s (creator of the Zero Escape trilogy) latest work might be his finest. AI: The Somnium Files is the game on the list this year with the most heart put into it. Consistently funny and over-the-top, a wonderful cast, and a really well executed sci-fi murder mystery. It makes me hope that Uchikoshi continues to make the kinds of games he wants to make, because you can definitely tell he had the most fun making this one.

7. Resident Evil 2 (Capcom)

Resident Evil 2 is the new gold standard for game remakes. I could go on and on praising it for how good it feels to play, the sound design, and the painstaking detail of recreating the original game from the ground up to be a third-person shooter. Quality of Life changes like the map marking items and telling you when a room is cleared and telling you when it’s okay to throw away key items are such fantastic additions. It gives me really high hopes for the RE3 Remake next year. Capcom’s hotstreak continues.

6. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (From Software)

Sekiro rightfully earns its spot as my second favourite FromSoft game. The Souls formula is still there, but the gameplay is fairly different now. Taking Bloodborne’s aggressiveness encouragement another step forward, Sekiro rewards not giving the enemies a chance to breathe more than ever. Boss battles are a tug-of-war of trying to break each other’s posture and perfect blocking to mitigate it. The dodge button pushes you forward by default and you often hope to have your attack blocked more than a it be a direct hit. Some of my favourite FromSoft bosses reside in this game with the final boss perhaps being my favourite overall. Level design is also at its best with the game finally giving you a greater range of movement and verticality with jumping and grappling. There’s even decent stealth mechanics. Sekiro was a really pleasant surprise and I hope they continue The Wolf’s story.

5. Judgement (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio)

Judgement is a Yakuza game in all but name, and RGG Studio’s first one set in Kamurocho without Kiryu as the main character. After giving up being an attorney, Takayuki Yagami becomes a freelance detective and investigates a series of murders in the city with the help of his former law office and ex-Tojo clan friend Masaharu Kaito. Substories are framed as side cases that Yagami can take on to earn some extra money, and new mini-games like drone racing and the Paradise VR board game are incredible additions. Anyone who is a fan of the Yakuza series should really check this out, and newcomers can jump right in without prior knowledge.

4. Disco Elysium (ZA/UM)

Disco Elysium has some of the best writing I have ever seen in a video game. As an amnesiac detective, you explore the rundown post-wartime district of Martinnaise trying to find who was behind the lynching of a mercenary before the situation gets out of control. What sets Disco Elysium apart from other RPGs in terms of gameplay is its character builds. As there is no combat, the 24 skills that you can put points into when you level up are all social skills. The higher you have various skills leveled, the more you will hear advice from them during conversation trees. A high Authority level will constantly remind you to tell people you are The Law, where a high level in Inland Empire will let you talk to inanimate objects to gain new perspectives. I also feel I have to give a nod to your partner throughout the game, Kim Kitsuragi. I’d rather not give anything away but they could not have written a better character to support you throughout your journey. I’ll likely be thinking about this game for a very long time.

3. Control (Remedy Entertainment)

I think Control flew under a lot of people’s radars until the publicity from the overwhelming number of Game Awards nominations. Control is a game for people who like SCP, psychokinesis powers, cool architecture, and a bit of Alan Wake. It wears its inspirations very blatantly on its sleeve and wraps a very cool story and even better side quests around them. It’s very stylish and has phenomenal lighting. Perhaps this is my Remedy bias but I really really adored this game and featured the coolest moment of the year for me. Please check it out if you get the opportunity.

2. Kingdom Hearts III (Square Enix)

Kingdom Hearts III has been a long time coming and what I think it nails best are the size and scale of the worlds. Olympus is the best its ever been with how much of the area outside the Colosseum you get to explore. The Caribbean is more expansive with boat combat that’s better than it has any right to be. Monstropolis has a great original story with some incredible tie-ins to the Kingdom Hearts plot. There’s a ton of incredible fanservice moments too for everyone waiting to see their favourite characters again. I still think a lot of it is really hype albeit cheesy, and it finally puts to rest an arc that has been going since the very first game. Kingdom Hearts isn’t over, but KHIII wraps a lot of things up in as satisfying of a way as they could for a story so expansive and often times convoluted. It’s very rare when a game that has been anticipated for so long not only doesn’t fumble it, but delivers on what I had hoped for, so I’m really glad it got to finally release this year.

1. Devil May Cry 5 (Capcom)

Speaking of games that I’ve been waiting a very long time for, DMC IS BACK! Every moment of DMC5 is a treat. Dante and Nero are at their most fun to play in this game, and V is a very cool addition both story-wise and gameplay-wise.This is the game from this year that I’ve kept going back to the most whether it’s for getting good at harder difficulties, or playing through bloody palace until floor 70 and give up ,or practicing with different weapons. It makes me happy to know that Platinum haven’t just been relegated to being the character action studio and that Hideaki Itsuno’s still got it. There’s no question that this is my Game of the Year and anyone who loves action games but hasn’t ever jumped into this series really needs to address that because DMC5 alone is worth it.

That’s all for my GOTY 2019 Top 10. If you’ve read this far, thanks for doing so. I really enjoy writing these and there’s a lot to look forward to in video games next March year, so please join me again next time when we can do this all over again!

#goty 2019 #sayonara wild hearts #fe3h #ai the somnium files #resident evil 2 #sekiro #judgement #disco elysium #control #kh3 #dmc5

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sadbirbs · 4 years

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I’ve been going through the Racial Justice & Equality Bundle and I’m going to make a list of stuff I’m especially excited about, both for future self-reference and for others who might be interested.

If you’re thinking about buying the bundle -- do it! This list is catered to my tastes but there’s so much in there that I *promise* you’ll find something you like.

If you already have, feel free to add on with your own picks/recommendations, as I’m overwhelmed by the amount of stuff in there and would love help sorting through it!

Under the cut ‘cause this got long.

Night in the Woods

The World Begins With You

Vilmonic: genetics/evolution simulator

A Mortician’s Tale: run a funeral home. 1-hour playtime

Petty Puny Planet: micromanage your pet planet

Gataela: Victorian steampunk RPG with a debate-battle system

Overland: post-apocalyptic road trip survival/strategy game

A Snake’s Tale: puzzle game with cute snakes!

Mon-cuties For All: raising monsters on a farm? Love farming games and it looks adorable

The Boughs: a TTRPG setting that looks like it’ll really scratch my “city in a giant tree” itch

Minit: accomplish everything you can in 60 seconds, then move on to the next life -- a game I already wanted pre-bundle

AIdol: cute visual novel about an AI trying to find her programmer (there are a lot of great-looking visual novels in here)

Verdant Skies: describes itself as Harvest-Moon-like but in a space colony! Lots of options for activities & they’ve placed a focus on inclusive avatar-building

Brassica: another visual novel, about “political marriages and their gay alternatives,” nice art style

In the Light of a Ghost Star: rules-light sci-fi TTRPG about exploring an abandoned Earth

Rites & Rituals: TTRPG lore dealing with spellcasting -- I’m curious about the index of fictional plants!

The King’s Bird: I’m not really into platformers but this looks beautiful + birds

#birdsecrets: how could I not pick something with a name like that. A mystery-solving TTRPG

My Welcomed Guest: single-player TTRPG about being trapped in Faerie

For the Honor: GM-less TTRPG with a magical princess aesthetic

To be a HerpWitch: “a small game about being nonbinary and befriending familiars”

6 Bites for 6 Princes: a TTRPG adventure (system-agnostic) about royal family secrets & werewolves

Tricksters: 2-5 player TTRPG (who wants to make a trickstersona?)

Lancer: a very nice looking sci fi TTRPG

Peckin’ Pixels: pixel art + chickens? sign me up

Cthulhu Deep Green: Cthulhu mythos + conspiracies TTRPG

Chalice: Arthurian Knights TTRPG (wish I could bring this into one of my lit classes ...)

Astral Defense: Galaga-type pixel art shooter

Eat Girl: “surreal top-down dot-eating game”, PacMan style

Beast Dream: Pokemon-inspired TTRPG about befriending monsters and going on adventures

World Maker: single-player worldbuilding TTRPG made with an eye towards writers developing worlds (!!)

Peck N Run: more birds! You play as a sandpiper trying to feed your chicks!

Mapping the Catacombs: solo TTRPG (pen & paper RPG) adventure about exploring catacombs

Ring of Fire: mystery game about chasing down a serial killer, looks excellent and atmospheric

Bird Bakery: m a k e y o u r o w n b i r d

Death and Taxes: oh I wanted this on Steam! you play the Grim Reaper deciding people’s cases

Signs of the Sojourner: deck-building game that focuses on your experiences with other characters

Loopy Lore: co-op storytelling party game

Sleepaway: GM-less TTRPG about camp counselors protecting kids from the Lindworm

Matr1x 0verl0ad: cyberpunk solitaire, sounds like a great combo! (TTRPG/card game)

The Reaper’s Almanac: GM-less game where players write each other letters as reapers harvesting human souls

Mutiny Island: open-world RPGish game about being a pirate

Viridian Maw: TTRPG setting featuring a mutated crater

MonGirl Tile: cute strategy card game

Black Heart: a Carly-Rae-Jepsen-themed cultist one-shot TTRPG. Wild

Crystal Story: Awakening: retro-looking pixel art RPG

Mausritter: mice with swords TTRPG; my childhood Redwall obsession just flared to life + adventure included

EMUUROM: metroidvania where you’re just scanning creatures and befriending them instead of killing them

Roguescape: rogue-like platforming dungeon crawler

Sonar Smash: cute shooter featuring a dolphin! iOS/Android compatible!

Noise1: hacker-typing stealth game

Desktop Goose: I saw this one in a tumblr post going around a while back. It’s a goose. It lives on your desktop. It’s horrible

Night in the Storm: you’re a lighthouse-keeper trying to keep the light on all night; looks gorgeous

Democratic Socialism Simulator: play as the first socialist president of the United States

Interstellaria: real-time space-exploration and management sim

One Page Lore: Fantasy Folk: lore for fantasy races that provides alternatives to or removes problematic tropes

OneShot: surreal/meta puzzle adventure game (keeps getting recommended to me on Steam)

Cromwell: Reigns but you’re Oliver Cromwell

Desktop Meadow: transform your entire computer into a beautiful meadow w/ birds, flowers, & mail

Ex Novo: city-building/map generating multiplayer pen-and-paper game (good for developing settings for further use)

Spring Falls: a puzzle game about water, erosion, and watching things grow

Corvid Court: bird-themed TTRPG about being criminals in a corrupt city

Celestial Correspondence: you log onto an angel’s computer and read their emails

The Ghost Houses of Phylinecra: system-agonistic TTRPG adventure/setting

1-6 Oozes in the Dark: D&D 5e module for level 2 characters

Stand Up: Persona-inspired TTRPG

Nott & Dagr: Norse-mythology puzzle co-op

Neon Blight: cyberpunk rogue-lite/gun store management game

Oxenfree: I’ve already watched a playthrough so I probably won’t actually play it, but a rec for anyone who hasn’t

#games #ttrpg #rpg #itch.io

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sailorsanghelios · 5 years

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HALO FOR BEGINNERS PART 1: A NOT SO BRIEF INTRO TO HALO

So Microsoft has recently announced that The Master Chief Collection for Halo, is coming to Steam, opening up the Halo universe to many new players who haven’t been able to play before thanks to not owning an Xbox.

So in celebration of this, I’ve decided to put together a little series thats basically a Beginner’s Guide to Halo, for people who only know it for its stereotypes involving its multiplayer play.

This series is mostly aimed at popular video game fandoms on Tumblr, so you might catch me making some comparisons (especially to series like Mass Effect that actually have some tropes in common with Halo)

However a couple of things before I get started for real

1.This guide will only be talking about the original trilogy of games, Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3. There are three other games in this game bundle, Halo 3: ODST, Halo Reach and Halo 4. However I haven’t actually finished ODST, and I haven’t played the latter two in over half a decade, so I really don’t feel equipped to talk about them in length.

2. Halo deals with a lot of heavy content. Along with the obvious blood and gore, there’s a lot of body horror involving the Flood (though if you can stomach say… Telltale’s TWD, its probably about at that level of squick). Heavy themes that are core themes of Halo include genocide, religious based trauma and abuse, child soldiers and medical experimentation on humans. I don’t believe Halo CE has much in the way of individual triggers to look out for, but Halo 2 has an extended torture scene that includes stripping someone naked to humiliate them and Halo 3 has several sequences involving a female character being violated mentally. So if anything these things are extreme triggers you can’t engage with, then I say you should listen to your gut.

3.I will not talk about the multiplayer aspects of Halo much (except to discuss stuff involving co-op maybe) as this series is meant to kind of explain more outside of multiplayer stereotypes.

4. Halo 2 and 3 are pretty hard to talk about without mentioning spoilers for the games that come before it. If you’d like a totally spoiler free experience, I’d recommend skipping anything where I mention these games. Also for the sake of my own sanity, I am not treating the Flood as a spoiler, because ...well it hasn’t been for almost 20 years, and Halo has since reached a point where you can’t really talk about it without mentioning them.

----

So I guess I should start at the very beginning?

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE HALO MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION?

The Halo Master Chief Collection is a collection of the first four Halo games, and ODST, and soon Reach will be added too! Its sold at the equivalent price of one retail game, so you’re basically getting six games for the price of one.

It was released for Xbox One in 2014, to coincide with Halo 2’s tenth anniversary. It was infamously buggy at the time, (probably because it was rushed for the aforementioned anniversary) but most of these bugs have been fixed, and they even added in ODST as an apology gift! The PC version should not contain these bugs. (though there’s a decent chance it might contain bugs related to PC porting, especially for Halo 3 and beyond which have never been ported before, but that’s just speculation).

If the PC version is identical to the Xbox version, the Master Chief Collection is essentially a download pass for these games. You download and pick and choose which ones you want! For example on my Xbox I don’t have the ODST from MCC loaded on because I already have the vanilla Xbox 360 version loaded to emulate (which I still haven’t finished but YOU KNOW). This allows you to play the games you want and not waste space and download time on the ones you don’t.

Halo Combat Evolved is ported based on the 2011 10th anniversary version that updated the graphics. Halo 2 received a brand new (and absolutely STUNNING) graphics update specifically for this release. Halo 3 and beyond are straight up ports with the original graphics, though with a much better frame rate.

SO WHAT EXACTLY IS HALO?

OH…. umm I guess maybe I should talk about that too.

Halo is as most people know, a sci-fi first person shooter. From 2001-2010 the games were released by Bungie. When Bungie left Microsoft to make the Destiny series, Microsoft kept some employees behind and hired some new ones to create 343 Industries which is their in house team to make Halo. The first game released by 343 Industries is Halo CE: Anniversary in 2011, and the first game released based on original content is Halo 4 in 2012. This post series though will mostly focus on Bungie content.

So Halo: Combat Evolved came out in 2001 and its...basically the reason the Xbox is a THING. If it weren’t for Halo, or even if Halo had been a multiplatform release, the Xbox probably would have gone the way of the Sega Dreamcast. Halo: CE had many innovations for the first person shooter genre at the time, including a two gun limit where you have to strategize your choice in weapons, a very complex AI system for the time, and basically revolutionized multiplayer for FPS games as we know it.

Halo would have been the best selling game for the original Xbox if it weren’t for Halo 2’s release in 2004, and Halo 3 basically was THE title for the Xbox 360, when it came out in 2007. The later games haven’t been AS successful, but still have a very loyal fanbase.

ENOUGH WITH THIS HISTORY LESSON, WHY IS HALO ANY DIFFERENT FROM CALL OF DUTY?

First things first.. I know there’s a lot of posts going around rn, talking about how well….overly militaristic many FPS games are. I will say I DON’T believe Halo is on the same level of some of these games. I’ve never heard of it having any military involvement in production, and I’d say its about as militaristic as Mass Effect is, as in the protagonists are in the space military, and the plot revolves around that.. The backstory of Halo if anything, paints the military in a very gray morality light AT BEST. So if you’re worried about this being a game that over-glorifies military stuff, if you’re okay with Mass Effect’s portrayal of a human space military, you’ll probably be fine with Halo.

SO I have not actually played Call of Duty or games like that as surprisingly I actually really don’t like the FPS genre, and Halo is the only FPS game I like. I will say though, Halo is definitely not a totally generic shooter, the way Call of Duty is stereotyped as. It has a very interesting plot with a lot of layers, and very unique lore, that still plays on familiar tropes. (and I’ll get into some of that later.)

At least one selling point I’ll say, is that unlike many modern shooters, Halo is STUNNING. It uses color very well, and has many beautiful maps, and especially in the remastered games you could just look at the environment for days. So the fact it has a color palette outside of gray and brown is definitely enough to set it apart.

I will say if you like Mass Effect for its alien lore and world building, there’s a very good chance you’ll like Halo too. The fandoms have a lot of overlap, and actually have a decent amount in common despite the fact one’s a shooter where you kill aliens and the other is an RPG where you…. you know with the aliens.

SO WHAT IS THIS PLOT YOU SPEAK OF?

I plan to go more in depth into this in my next post, but I figured for this intro post I might as well tell the basic gist of it. There will be some loose spoilers for the sake of the summaries making sense.

Halo Combat Evolved, is about a lone human ship that has escaped the destruction of the planet Reach, which was the last thing between Earth and the Covenant, a race of aliens hell bent on wiping out humanity for religious reasons. The ship makes a “random” jump to what they think would be the middle of nowhere, but in fact brings them to a ringworld that is worshipped as the foundation of the Covenant religion. Both human and Covenant land on this ring and a fierce battle assumes as they try to take control of it. Halfway through you learn that there’s...surprise! Zombies! Called the Flood, a spore like species that turns people into zombies and their only drive is to consume everything in their path. It turns out Halo, is a weapon to destroy them but…. It also destroys every living thing in the galaxy, so it turns into a mad dash to make sure that a) no one activates it and b) the Flood are able to be stopped without it before they leave the ringworld.

Halo 2 takes place about a month later, and is a split campaign between the Master Chief and the Arbiter, who is the disgraced commander of that fleet you were fighting in the first game. The Master Chief side of the story involves the Covenant finally making it to Earth, and the discovery of a second Halo ring, and the fallout of both of those things. The Arbiter side of the story involves him trying to restore his honor within the Covenant, by becoming a suicide soldier fighting for their faith, but as he does missions for his prophets, he learns the amount of lies and hatred his religion and society are built on.

And Halo 3 is basically...the convergence of all these stories. Its very hard to talk about without mentioning spoilers, and without going in depth about world building related stuff, which is the focus of my next post.

The final thing for this intro is….

WHAT IS HALO’S GAMEPLAY LIKE?

Okay so… I’m not going to talk about the controls, because I imagine they’ll be very different from mine, as an Xbox player. And I’m very biased because Halo is the first game I ever played on a controller as a kid, so I don’t really have an objective way of describing them. But the fact the controls were easy for me as a seven year old, probably makes them pretty easy to learn in general.

Because Halo is a linear story, the game is split up into levels. In the vanilla releases of the game, you need to play them in order to unlock them all, but in MCC that is NOT the case, and you can skip levels. I really do not recommend doing this though the first time around for obvious reasons, but once you’ve completed the game, you can just play the segments you like! And trust me there are certain levels you’ll hate (like the Library… I will tell you right now you will hate that level.)

There’s four difficulty levels, Easy, Normal, Heroic and Legendary. Easy is well..super easy. This is the mode I used as a little kid. However I don’t think there’s any shame in playing at this level, in fact I usually use this difficulty for my first playthrough so I can get through the story with no difficulty. Normal is well...normal. This is the difficulty I usually play at, its probably the most realistic in terms of enemy strength vs player strength. Heroic is basically pretty hard but not like...obscenely hard, but enough to be a big frustrating unless you know the game really well. And Legendary is… well super extra hard. Play Legendary if you enjoy having everything murder you, with no mercy. Also Halo 2 has a significantly harder campaign then Halo CE and Halo 3.

In the vanilla releases of the games, starting with Halo 2, there are items called Skulls you can collect that add difficulty or some extra fun to the game, but you have to collect them in the Legendary difficulties of the levels. This is NOT the case for MCC, and they’re all available for you from the getgo. I really don’t recommend using them for your first playthrough unless you really want a challenge, with the exception of the silly ones like Grunt Birthday Party (which spits confetti for headshots to Grunts) that don’t actually affect gameplay.

A lot of other gameplay stuff is really hard to generalize since Halo is a series where the gameplay tends to be pretty different between games, such as with HUD features and such. But those are some general miscellaneous game things they all have in common.

So yeah, thats it for my intro to my...intro to Halo. I’ll get started on the next one talking more indepth about the factions and what not, when I recover from...writing this.

#halo shitpost hour #halo #i have been working on this all day until i was happy enough with it so ahhhh #i have nothing resembling an idea when the next part will come out right now i just need a nap

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variantia · 4 years

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@outofthisgxlaxy replied to your post: BELLUM. anyway you haven’t lived till you’ve...

(I don’t even know the canon this character is from but OW. MY HEART. ;A; )

BELLUM. first of all, I’ll always recommend the Mass Effect series to people, especially people who like aliens, sci-fi, shit tons of worldbuilding, drama, and romance ! it’s like this huge RPG shooter, there’s the original trilogy and then also a spinoff ; it’s VERY good ! I’m usually not one for shooters, but even I enjoy the combat parts of the game oohooohoohooo

I haven’t even finished the first game yet but I’ve watched spoilers and shit because I’m a dirty bird

second of all, EVERY PART OF THIS CHARACTER WILL MAKE YOUR HEART HURT OKAY HE’S SUCH A GOOD BOY AND HE DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER THAN WHAT HE GOT

ALIEN GRIEF SOLIDARITY PLEASE,

#outofthisgxlaxy #is that a fucking gremlin ? ? ( OOC. )#(( I love Thane so much I cry every time he so much as fucking breathes ))

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demoeny · 3 years

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Survive and Conquer: Incredible Combat Strategy Games

The survival and combat games genre is one of the most popular genres in video game history. These intense, immersive games allow players to experience some of the worst-case scenarios and scenarios that can happen in real life. In this blog post, we will look at some incredible survival/combat strategy games for you to try out!

The Most Addicting Combat Games of All-Time

Dungeon Defenders II: A survival game with tower defense and RPG elements, Dungeon Defenders II is one of the most popular games out there. With a nearly infinite variety of items to craft from materials found in this epic world, you can customize your gameplay as much or little as you want!

- Fortnite Battle Royale: This free 100 player PvP mode has taken over Twitch recently for its high intensity combat that requires careful strategy for victory. Packed full of exciting features including dynamic weather and destructible environments, players are sure to love what it offers.

- Left Alive: If sci-fi stealth/shooters like Metal Gear Solid have ever been up your alley then remember not to miss this survival/combat experience . With a story that spans three different nations, this is one to keep on your radar.

- Warframe: This cooperative third person shooter has been around for awhile but it's never too late to hop in! It features an extensive upgrade system and multiple ways you can play with other players online or single player offline if you prefer.

Which is the hardest open world combat game?

- Fortnite: The free survival game may be simple but don't underestimate its addictiveness. There are some clever tricks up the developers sleeve so make sure not to miss out on what makes it such a joyfully fun experience!

Survival games are unique as they are not about winning but rather about survival. They are often open world and have a strong emphasis on strategy which is crucial for surviving in these intense combat scenarios.

If you're interested in games that focus on combat, read below to find out more!

- The Surge: This futuristic sci-fi RPG features some of the most unique fighting game mechanics I've ever seen with an interesting twist at the end - it's not always about kicking butt and taking names .

- Dark Souls: This is a tough one because it's so open world and features some of the most difficult combat scenarios I've ever seen but if you're up for that kind of challenge then this is your game !

- Shadow Warrior: If over-the-top action is what you're after then look no further than this classic FPS that has just been remastered by Devolver Digital (of Serious Sam fame) ! It doesn't hold back with its bloody violence so if that sounds like too much for you, I recommend looking elsewhere.

- Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands: If co-op play is more what you're after in an immersive military shooter then look no further than Ubisoft's newest installment to their popular franchise . The story was well received by fans who are used to tactical games like these so be prepared to get into the nitty gritty details with your friends!

EA : Hacked and Stolen Source Code

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josephlrushing · 4 years

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The Outer Worlds for Nintendo Switch Makes a Hot Mess of a Great Game

The Outer Worlds from Obsidian Entertainment was my favorite game of 2019, and I already replayed it on PC in early 2020. It was an excellent role-playing game with tons of great shooter and melee combat, fantastic writing and characters, and storytelling. It has now arrived on the Nintendo Switch as an absolute hot mess of a full-priced port.

I recommend you avoid it until significant patching and price drops occur — unless you only have the Switch as a gaming option, in which case you might still love it as much as I did despite the warts.

Here are the basics about The Outer Worlds:

The Outer Worlds is a new single-player sci-fi RPG from Obsidian Entertainment and Private Division. Lost in transit while on a colonist ship bound for the furthest edge of the galaxy, you awake decades later than you expected only to find yourself in the midst of a deep conspiracy threatening to destroy the Halcyon colony.

As you explore the furthest reaches of space and encounter a host of factions all vying for power, who you decide to become will determine the fate of everyone in Halcyon.

In the corporate equation for the colony, you are the unplanned variable.

Story: Obsidian Entertainment is known for producing the best and most interesting stories in the role-playing world. They were formed by people with resumes, including the legendary Baldur’s Gate and Fallout games of the 90s, and have themselves created most of the best-written role-playing games of the past 15 years. These include Neverwinter Nights 2, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2, Fallout New Vegas, Tyranny, Pillars of Eternity 1 & 2, and more.

The Outer World jumps right in with a compelling premise and a wild set of characters. You will never be bored from a lack of exciting quests and interactions. As always, with Obsidian, your choices have consequences, and you can align yourself in a variety of ways to get to several possible outcomes and endings.

To me, the story was what kept me engaged and coming back for more. Obsidian delivered more of their incredible characters and companions, each of whom has their own backstory and motivations and will try to either influence you or seek your approval for their own desires. Fortunately, the game we got on the Switch is complete and has all of the characters, quests, and story intact.

Graphics: How do I say this politely? The graphics on the Switch port are a mess. I am not a huge critic of graphics in portable versions of games – I will be very forgiving to get a game ‘on the go.’ Plenty of Switch ports of PC games such as Doom (2016), Wolfenstein II: New Colossus, Diablo III, Civilization VI, and of course, the recent The Witcher 3 all look great while each had to make small compromises.

For The Outer Worlds, the compromises were VERY significant, particularly when playing in handheld mode. When playing, docked things are significantly better, but still a significant step-down from playing on PC or consoles. In handheld mode (my preference), textures are mushy, details are washed out, the color palette is squashed, and the open areas suffer from significant pop-in of not just details but enemies and other characters.

As a result, it is possible to run down the road that looks empty and suddenly find yourself in the midst of a battle with enemies who popped in out of nowhere. This also happens to buildings and signs – you will just see blurry blobs until you are right on top of things. As I said, it is better in docked mode – but still not great because of performance.

What bothered me even more was that the graphic quality and performance was inconsistent throughout the game. You get used to the game looking like it was a decade old or more, then suddenly you see a few gorgeous areas with butter-smooth performance, which just makes it more jarring when you come upon a sign that you can’t read until it is right in front of you.

Performance: Porting house Private Division said they were targeting 1080p docked and 720p in handheld mode with 30 frames per second locked. It turns out that it was more like ‘wishful thinking.’ I have already discussed the mediocre graphics, but the bigger problem was all of the frame rate dips as I wandered the world. Not only could enemies pop in, but as the game lagged trying to catch up with frames, you could take loads of damage waiting for the sluggish controls and also waste loads of precious ammo.

The game doesn’t feel like it was polished enough to release. There was a ‘day one patch’ that helped things compared to previews I have seen/read, but it feels like a long way to go to have a satisfying game. While playing the game, there was another patch bringing the game to 1.01, which also helped a bit. But unfortunately, the game remains ‘fully up to date’ at the 1.01 patch. In comparison, my PC version has already had the 1.04 patch for a while. To make matters worse, Obsidian & Private Division even said, “Patch 1.4 has been released to all employees” when announcing it on Twitter – and has not made any comments on the Switch patch or responded to questions. The last communication was in late June, saying ‘working on it.’

Based on this, I would say that we need to assume that the 1.01 version is ‘end state’ for the Switch. And that is sad because while the game was one of my favorites — not just for 2019 but in general for recent years — but on the Switch, it is pretty tough to recommend due to performance and graphics.

Gameplay: The Outer Worlds is a combination FPS-RPG (first-person shooter and role-playing game), and in the manner typical for the genre, when you enter combat, your success is based on your personal ability to aim and time strikes and blocks, and also modifiers based on your characters skills and attributes. So you could play the game with a melee-focused brute and find your pistol much less useful than if you were a smaller, more dextrous character with skills focused on aim and concentration.

Aside from the performance issues, this style of game adapts pretty well on the Switch – and along with the story is the reason I played it to completion in handheld mode! Once I worked out a system to deal with enemies appearing spontaneously, it became fun to try out a variety of weapons and techniques – and since each enemy has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, it is critical that you develop an understanding of how to address those before you end up dead.

Because of the complex three-tier attribute/skill/perk system that all interact and influence everything you do, there is a need to focus on a couple of combat and non-combat areas to ensure success in all but the easiest play mode. For example, in my main playthrough, I was a science-focused melee combat character with high levels of diplomacy. That allowed me to maximize a cool science-based melee weapon (and getting that was a quest item itself!) but meant I wasn’t very skilled at opening locks or hacking computers. My gun skills were also very weak, but fortunately, you can bring along up to two companions on missions, which allows you to have a ranged sniper and hacker with you to complement your skills.

Controls: The Outer Worlds plays like a fairly standard first-person action-RPG. Using FPS-style console controls, most gamers will recognize augmented by the Switch’s gyroscope controls, which themselves can be tweaked to your liking. I will always prefer the keyboard & mouse control system, but whereas earlier handheld systems had inferior controls, I never felt like the controls in The Outer World held me back.

Conclusions: I wrestled with whether to title this review ‘even inconsistent graphics and erratic performance couldn’t kill my love for this game.’ But what I realized was that if I didn’t ALREADY love this game —and know it was worth working through the issues — I would likely have quit after a few hours and lamented the money lost in the purchase.

And that is how I end up calling this a ‘hot mess of a great game’ – yes, The Outer Worlds IS a great game, even on the Switch. There are so many classic gaming moments to explore – pretty much everything with Pavarti is a gem – and the breadth and variety of things to do, explore and destroy just make it a blast. BUT … you DO need to get past the graphics and performance – and that means fundamentally changing how you play the game compared to other systems. And – that is something it is hard for me to recommend.

Source: Personal Purchase

Price: $19.99 for The Outer Worlds from the Nintendo eShop.

What I Like: Excellent story; Intuitive control scheme; Tons of quests; Many hidden items/unlockables; Great skill trees; A variety of play styles and difficulty levels increases replay value to high level

What Needs Improvement: Inconsistent graphical quality and performance; Overall performance leads to difficult fights and adaptive strategies; Patches lag way behind PC and consoles

The post The Outer Worlds for Nintendo Switch Makes a Hot Mess of a Great Game first appeared on GearDiary.

from Joseph Rushing https://geardiary.com/2020/09/28/the-outer-worlds-for-nintendo-switch-makes-a-hot-mess-of-a-great-game/

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