Video Games and Gaming Technology (In A Positive Light)

homersheineken said:
Kind of like real life?
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Yes kind of because TS4 is a life simulation genre but it is not meant to be realistic. Although there are other games like this such as Paralives, Inzoi, and Life by You. As far as I know Life by You is the most realistic and the developers wanted it to simulate real life as much as possible.
 
Enjoying Halo Infinite but the writing is genuinely sophomoric. I'm not sure there have ever been villains more one-dimensional and boring than the Banished. Considering Helldivers 2 after Lent because I see a lot of people saying it's the direction Halo should have gone in. Anyone playing it?
 
If you guys like strategy type games, XCOM 2 is an old one that you won't hear about much, but many refer to it as the last good strategy game (mainly because studios aren't making these types of games anymore, or if they do are simply rehashing older ones with newer graphics--Starcraft 2 for example was released in 2010).

The concept is defending the world from alien invasion. It is a turn based strategy game, which was new for me, but I like it. Instead of rapid clicking like you need to do in Age of Empires / Starcraft / Total War type games, you control a crew of up to 6 guys, train and upgrade them (sniper, ranger, psyonics, robot, grenadier etc.) and then in your tactical missions you control them one by one in turn, using the elements of cover (to reduce the chance of an attack hitting you) and flanking (to increase chances of your shots landing) to defeat the enemy in missions.

You have to make decisions like, which units will I control first, and who should take the shot? You can see percentages before you commit, like 45% chance of this shot hitting. So for example you may decide to hit a heavily armored unit with your grenadier first to destroy his armor, then a Sniper to cause heavy damage, then finish him off with a close melee attack.

There are strategic decisions in between the tactical missions such as researching technologies, buying equipment, and expanding your global support and income.

The game is a bit dated, but I am replaying it now before I install Red Dead Redemption.
94% PC Gamer, 9/10 Superb Gamespot
Looks like it is under $3 now. Well worth playing


 
Rax Moscow said:
If you guys like strategy type games, XCOM 2 is an old one that you won't hear about much, but many refer to it as the last good strategy game (mainly because studios aren't making these types of games anymore, or if they do are simply rehashing older ones with newer graphics--Starcraft 2 for example was released in 2010).

The concept is defending the world from alien invasion. It is a turn based strategy game, which was new for me, but I like it. Instead of rapid clicking like you need to do in Age of Empires / Starcraft / Total War type games, you control a crew of up to 6 guys, train and upgrade them (sniper, ranger, psyonics, robot, grenadier etc.) and then in your tactical missions you control them one by one in turn, using the elements of cover (to reduce the chance of an attack hitting you) and flanking (to increase chances of your shots landing) to defeat the enemy in missions.

You have to make decisions like, which units will I control first, and who should take the shot? You can see percentages before you commit, like 45% chance of this shot hitting. So for example you may decide to hit a heavily armored unit with your grenadier first to destroy his armor, then a Sniper to cause heavy damage, then finish him off with a close melee attack.

There are strategic decisions in between the tactical missions such as researching technologies, buying equipment, and expanding your global support and income.

The game is a bit dated, but I am replaying it now before I install Red Dead Redemption.
94% PC Gamer, 9/10 Superb Gamespot
Looks like it is under $3 now. Well worth playing


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Well worth playing, and the first one is good too!
 
Rax Moscow said:
If you guys like strategy type games, XCOM 2 is an old one that you won't hear about much, but many refer to it as the last good strategy game (mainly because studios aren't making these types of games anymore, or if they do are simply rehashing older ones with newer graphics--Starcraft 2 for example was released in 2010).

The concept is defending the world from alien invasion. It is a turn based strategy game, which was new for me, but I like it. Instead of rapid clicking like you need to do in Age of Empires / Starcraft / Total War type games, you control a crew of up to 6 guys, train and upgrade them (sniper, ranger, psyonics, robot, grenadier etc.) and then in your tactical missions you control them one by one in turn, using the elements of cover (to reduce the chance of an attack hitting you) and flanking (to increase chances of your shots landing) to defeat the enemy in missions.

You have to make decisions like, which units will I control first, and who should take the shot? You can see percentages before you commit, like 45% chance of this shot hitting. So for example you may decide to hit a heavily armored unit with your grenadier first to destroy his armor, then a Sniper to cause heavy damage, then finish him off with a close melee attack.

There are strategic decisions in between the tactical missions such as researching technologies, buying equipment, and expanding your global support and income.

The game is a bit dated, but I am replaying it now before I install Red Dead Redemption.
94% PC Gamer, 9/10 Superb Gamespot
Looks like it is under $3 now. Well worth playing


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I played this on a whim last year and really enjoyed it. I downloaded the mod that takes the cinematics out so I wouldn't have to sit through a 30 second clip (at least it felt like it) every single time new enemies appeared on the map. I didn't like the base management stuff so I played Gears Tactics afterward, which was everything I liked about Xcom with none of the stuff I didn't. Supposedly Bit Reactor is making a Star Wars strategy game in this genre which I am looking forward to. Wasteland 3 was similar and I really enjoyed that too.
 
Epic Games is giving away Deus Ex Mankind Divided this weekend. You may need to download their app (similar to steam) to avail the deal. I got a couple of free Epic Games with my gfx card purchase and it seems they have an ongoing "free" game, usually older.

I loved the original Deus Ex, and reviews for this one seem pretty good. It always had a subversive, dystopian undertone to it, and some very memorable scenes / missions. I believe it had a religious dimension as well, though it has some transhumanist / cyborg aspects too.
 
Been having a lot of fun with HELLDIVERS 2 recently, the gameplay is great and it makes for a fun co-op game with friends or randoms (especially since it's so easy to accidentally blow each other up).

They've got a great parody of American Patriotism running throughout the game as well:
 
I've been watching (I say watching because that's the majority of what you do when you PLAY this game) Red Dead Redemption for the past few days, and wow, what a perfect analogy for the modern western world.

RDD2 is a beautiful game, but completely boring. It's all style and no substance.
Typically, you spend about 10 minutes just holding down the "A" button while riding on horseback having a pointless conversation with someone and then finally get to a place where you can maybe fire a few shots and kill people (why? who knows) and then back on your horse again.

All hat and no cowboy.

It's kind of like how we have high quality digital music studios that run on an ipad, and can produce high quality lossless audio with tons of digital effects and autotuning, but the actual songwriting and singing and lyrics and melodies pale in comparison to past decades.

Or like how Hollywood special effects are truly incredible, but most films today have awful plots and are full of degeneracy.

Or like how 4K TVs are becoming popular for their high resolution screens, but there's not really anything worth watching.

And like most flashy things today, people seem to love it. Every review I found was 95+ / 100. It *is* very pretty. But the gameplay is bad. Combat is clunky. Plot is meandering and boring. And about 80% of the game you just sit there passively traveling from one place to another through beautiful scenery. Despite being an open world, the plot is forced, and the only decisions you can make are to be good or be evil at the end of a mission (ie do you shoot the survivors or let them go free). Luckily I only spent about $12 on it because it's completely useless for anything except a Cowboy Simulator.

I wonder if Cyberpunk 2077 is equally boring? It's the other recent game that people rant and rave about.
 
Rax Moscow said:
I've been watching (I say watching because that's the majority of what you do when you PLAY this game) Red Dead Redemption for the past few days, and wow, what a perfect analogy for the modern western world.

RDD2 is a beautiful game, but completely boring. It's all style and no substance.
Typically, you spend about 10 minutes just holding down the "A" button while riding on horseback having a pointless conversation with someone and then finally get to a place where you can maybe fire a few shots and kill people (why? who knows) and then back on your horse again.

All hat and no cowboy.

It's kind of like how we have high quality digital music studios that run on an ipad, and can produce high quality lossless audio with tons of digital effects and autotuning, but the actual songwriting and singing and lyrics and melodies pale in comparison to past decades.

Or like how Hollywood special effects are truly incredible, but most films today have awful plots and are full of degeneracy.

Or like how 4K TVs are becoming popular for their high resolution screens, but there's not really anything worth watching.

And like most flashy things today, people seem to love it. Every review I found was 95+ / 100. It *is* very pretty. But the gameplay is bad. Combat is clunky. Plot is meandering and boring. And about 80% of the game you just sit there passively traveling from one place to another through beautiful scenery. Despite being an open world, the plot is forced, and the only decisions you can make are to be good or be evil at the end of a mission (ie do you shoot the survivors or let them go free). Luckily I only spent about $12 on it because it's completely useless for anything except a Cowboy Simulator.

I wonder if Cyberpunk 2077 is equally boring? It's the other recent game that people rant and rave about.
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Rax Moscow said:
I've been watching (I say watching because that's the majority of what you do when you PLAY this game) Red Dead Redemption for the past few days, and wow, what a perfect analogy for the modern western world.

RDD2 is a beautiful game, but completely boring. It's all style and no substance.
Typically, you spend about 10 minutes just holding down the "A" button while riding on horseback having a pointless conversation with someone and then finally get to a place where you can maybe fire a few shots and kill people (why? who knows) and then back on your horse again.

All hat and no cowboy.

It's kind of like how we have high quality digital music studios that run on an ipad, and can produce high quality lossless audio with tons of digital effects and autotuning, but the actual songwriting and singing and lyrics and melodies pale in comparison to past decades.

Or like how Hollywood special effects are truly incredible, but most films today have awful plots and are full of degeneracy.

Or like how 4K TVs are becoming popular for their high resolution screens, but there's not really anything worth watching.

And like most flashy things today, people seem to love it. Every review I found was 95+ / 100. It *is* very pretty. But the gameplay is bad. Combat is clunky. Plot is meandering and boring. And about 80% of the game you just sit there passively traveling from one place to another through beautiful scenery. Despite being an open world, the plot is forced, and the only decisions you can make are to be good or be evil at the end of a mission (ie do you shoot the survivors or let them go free). Luckily I only spent about $12 on it because it's completely useless for anything except a Cowboy Simulator.

I wonder if Cyberpunk 2077 is equally boring? It's the other recent game that people rant and rave about.
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100% agreed. I ranted about it in the other gaming thread, I think it’s the most overrated game of the past twenty years
 
I've been playing some WC3 the past few months. It's a nice diversion from everyday life and I no longer feel like it's as big of a waste of time as the times I find myself scrolling social media. Scratches the competitive itch, I've found it difficult to play single-player games ever since I first got high-speed internet.
 
Rax Moscow said:
I've been watching (I say watching because that's the majority of what you do when you PLAY this game) Red Dead Redemption for the past few days, and wow, what a perfect analogy for the modern western world.

RDD2 is a beautiful game, but completely boring. It's all style and no substance.
Typically, you spend about 10 minutes just holding down the "A" button while riding on horseback having a pointless conversation with someone and then finally get to a place where you can maybe fire a few shots and kill people (why? who knows) and then back on your horse again.

All hat and no cowboy.

It's kind of like how we have high quality digital music studios that run on an ipad, and can produce high quality lossless audio with tons of digital effects and autotuning, but the actual songwriting and singing and lyrics and melodies pale in comparison to past decades.

Or like how Hollywood special effects are truly incredible, but most films today have awful plots and are full of degeneracy.

Or like how 4K TVs are becoming popular for their high resolution screens, but there's not really anything worth watching.

And like most flashy things today, people seem to love it. Every review I found was 95+ / 100. It *is* very pretty. But the gameplay is bad. Combat is clunky. Plot is meandering and boring. And about 80% of the game you just sit there passively traveling from one place to another through beautiful scenery. Despite being an open world, the plot is forced, and the only decisions you can make are to be good or be evil at the end of a mission (ie do you shoot the survivors or let them go free). Luckily I only spent about $12 on it because it's completely useless for anything except a Cowboy Simulator.

I wonder if Cyberpunk 2077 is equally boring? It's the other recent game that people rant and rave about.
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Cyberpunk is also boring yes, very much the same issues you're describing, all style and no substance. The conversations between characters are dull and bereft of dramatic stakes. Dangling K. Reeves in front of the screen is good enough for most I guess.
 
Rax Moscow said:
I've been watching (I say watching because that's the majority of what you do when you PLAY this game) Red Dead Redemption for the past few days, and wow, what a perfect analogy for the modern western world.

RDD2 is a beautiful game, but completely boring. It's all style and no substance.
Typically, you spend about 10 minutes just holding down the "A" button while riding on horseback having a pointless conversation with someone and then finally get to a place where you can maybe fire a few shots and kill people (why? who knows) and then back on your horse again.

All hat and no cowboy.

It's kind of like how we have high quality digital music studios that run on an ipad, and can produce high quality lossless audio with tons of digital effects and autotuning, but the actual songwriting and singing and lyrics and melodies pale in comparison to past decades.

Or like how Hollywood special effects are truly incredible, but most films today have awful plots and are full of degeneracy.

Or like how 4K TVs are becoming popular for their high resolution screens, but there's not really anything worth watching.

And like most flashy things today, people seem to love it. Every review I found was 95+ / 100. It *is* very pretty. But the gameplay is bad. Combat is clunky. Plot is meandering and boring. And about 80% of the game you just sit there passively traveling from one place to another through beautiful scenery. Despite being an open world, the plot is forced, and the only decisions you can make are to be good or be evil at the end of a mission (ie do you shoot the survivors or let them go free). Luckily I only spent about $12 on it because it's completely useless for anything except a Cowboy Simulator.

I wonder if Cyberpunk 2077 is equally boring? It's the other recent game that people rant and rave about.
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I couldn't finish RDD2 for your exact reasons and I couldn't even sit through an hour of Cyberpunk its total trash unless you like a woman yelling at you constantly.

Witcher 3 and the first RDD are still great though. I just don't have the time playing games these days.
 
I tried Witcher 3 a couple years ago, but I found Yennefer's visual design and her character very unpleasant (enough to make me want to drop the game tbh), and more importantly, the combat and movement felt too slow and perhaps unpolished to me.

Maybe it's because I mostly play movement shooters and bullet hells when I'm not playing strategy games (I mostly play strategy games), but movement and combat in most games feels very slow and unpolished to me. Especially for third person action games like this, I want movement and combat to feel quite fast and smooth, like in Sekiro. I love Sekiro.

Also honestly the story as a whole was Neftlix-tier goyslop and I don't get why people praise it so much. Sure, it has interesting enough worldbuilding, but so do a lot of degenerate anime mobile games. If you've played some of the big ones, you know it, they seem to put significantly more budget into the story than into bugfixes or quality of life features. It amounts to nothing if you're going to do retarded degeneracy, such as giving the player a cool male character to control and then immediately going out of your way to have an uppity feminist sorceress emasculate him.
 
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Canceled my Xbox Game Pass subscription today..... I've been trying to overlook the glaring "message" Xbox has been sneaking into everything. Including asking my pronouns for Forza and Starfield. I have bled Xbox green during the console wars for a decade or more.... That ends today.

I hope this turns into a case of get woke, go broke.

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Recently finished Breath of the Wild via emulator, with a mod that makes weapons unbreakable - that issue stopped me from playing the game years back. Enjoyable game with that change. I really appreciated the overall calm and aesthetically pleasing vibe - great art style and music (though I wish there was more music-wise).

Story was barebones and it had some questionable design choices with the open world. Exploration is great for the first 10 or 20 hours but then you realize bandit camps never really have anything worth looting and shrines almost always just give you 1/4 of a heart/stamina upgrade which makes the exploring become rather banal and repetitive. Furthermore the fact that they committed to being able to do the shrines and areas in any order meant that you never really pick up any major puzzle-solving tools past the tutorial. I also really wish they had more interesting themes/environments to the shrines and dungeons. The side quests were a bit hit or miss, some cool ones but a LOT of fetch quests that just net you a bit of money. I did like that almost everything in the game is optional so I could pretty much play until I'd had my fill and then go beat the final boss.

Nice choice of game to casually play for an hour or so to unwind, my wife enjoyed hanging out with it on which was a plus.
 
Iacobus said:
Recently finished Breath of the Wild via emulator, with a mod that makes weapons unbreakable - that issue stopped me from playing the game years back. Enjoyable game with that change. I really appreciated the overall calm and aesthetically pleasing vibe - great art style and music (though I wish there was more music-wise).

Story was barebones and it had some questionable design choices with the open world. Exploration is great for the first 10 or 20 hours but then you realize bandit camps never really have anything worth looting and shrines almost always just give you 1/4 of a heart/stamina upgrade which makes the exploring become rather banal and repetitive. Furthermore the fact that they committed to being able to do the shrines and areas in any order meant that you never really pick up any major puzzle-solving tools past the tutorial. I also really wish they had more interesting themes/environments to the shrines and dungeons. The side quests were a bit hit or miss, some cool ones but a LOT of fetch quests that just net you a bit of money. I did like that almost everything in the game is optional so I could pretty much play until I'd had my fill and then go beat the final boss.

Nice choice of game to casually play for an hour or so to unwind, my wife enjoyed hanging out with it on which was a plus.
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I enjoyed BoTW, but would hate to see the series keep going in that direction without bringing back what made old Zelda games so great. Tears of the Kingdom was just too gimmicky and boring to me to put more than 10 hours in
 
Iacobus said:
Recently finished Breath of the Wild via emulator, with a mod that makes weapons unbreakable - that issue stopped me from playing the game years back. Enjoyable game with that change. I really appreciated the overall calm and aesthetically pleasing vibe - great art style and music (though I wish there was more music-wise).

Story was barebones and it had some questionable design choices with the open world. Exploration is great for the first 10 or 20 hours but then you realize bandit camps never really have anything worth looting and shrines almost always just give you 1/4 of a heart/stamina upgrade which makes the exploring become rather banal and repetitive. Furthermore the fact that they committed to being able to do the shrines and areas in any order meant that you never really pick up any major puzzle-solving tools past the tutorial. I also really wish they had more interesting themes/environments to the shrines and dungeons. The side quests were a bit hit or miss, some cool ones but a LOT of fetch quests that just net you a bit of money. I did like that almost everything in the game is optional so I could pretty much play until I'd had my fill and then go beat the final boss.

Nice choice of game to casually play for an hour or so to unwind, my wife enjoyed hanging out with it on which was a plus.
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What emulator did you use?
 
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