Video Game Thread v. Wii4One

[Stadler]

See, I can't decide where I fall.  I played the Far Cry series (through 3, plus Blood Dragon) and I was told that each was wildly different than each other, and that's true, for the most part, but there was a spirit flowing through them and other than some aspects of 2, they fit well and I liked all of them to varying degrees (I LOVED Blood Dragon, but that was the most different of all so hard to count). 

I don't need each one to be a direct continuation from the other.  But - and this is on me, I get it - I'm a sort of completist.  I play from 1 through n, and it's difficult to separate out or skip when you have a JRPG (first I've heard of that) then another RPG, then a combat game, then a first-person shooter...   I guess it depends on the quality of the game - Bio Shock Ultimate was very different than 1 and 2, but it was probably my favorite of the three in it's own way - but I'm not really interested in a combat game with Link.  I want a sort of spiritual successor, even if the names have been changed to protect the guilty.  That FF game I told you about scarred me for life!  HAHAHA.   

[Stadler]

One night, me and my bro spent an entire night trying to beat him. We did, celebrated and went to bed.

 

I missed this the first time.  Well played!   

[cramx3]

Need something to play while I recover from The Plague

damn mang, get well soon

[Phoenix87x]

A quick thought, while we're on the subject. I'm aware it gets a bad rep, but I've loved FFVIII, despite the hateful draw system.

I really loved VIII at release. Those feelings have waned a little over time. I just wish the story could have kept it together a littler more as you progressed further into the game.

[The Walrus]

See, I can't decide where I fall.  I played the Far Cry series (through 3, plus Blood Dragon) and I was told that each was wildly different than each other, and that's true, for the most part, but there was a spirit flowing through them and other than some aspects of 2, they fit well and I liked all of them to varying degrees (I LOVED Blood Dragon, but that was the most different of all so hard to count). 

I don't need each one to be a direct continuation from the other.  But - and this is on me, I get it - I'm a sort of completist.  I play from 1 through n, and it's difficult to separate out or skip when you have a JRPG (first I've heard of that) then another RPG, then a combat game, then a first-person shooter...   I guess it depends on the quality of the game - Bio Shock Ultimate was very different than 1 and 2, but it was probably my favorite of the three in it's own way - but I'm not really interested in a combat game with Link.  I want a sort of spiritual successor, even if the names have been changed to protect the guilty.  That FF game I told you about scarred me for life!  HAHAHA.

Well - and I fully understand where you're coming from - Final Fantasy does it a bit differently. At its core they're all fundamentally Japanese RPGs, but there are different goals with each game's gameplay mechanics, a different design philosophy - particularly from 10 through the last one, 15, and into this new remake of 7. So no matter how off the rails they end up getting, at the core of it all is a party of characters going on a big adventure with lots of magic and skills and acquiring more items than any human can reasonably carry on their body at one time.

The Zelda games are actually fascinating in the sense that for the last 20 years they've kind of been shoehorning games into one sprawling, convoluted as fuck timeline - to the point that there is now a 'Toon Link' whose entire timeline is separate from the rest of the modern games. So after 2003's Wind Waker, the Link from THAT game would go on to star in two direct sequels, Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. Those games have absolutely NO relation to any other Zelda game, except the most recent, Breath of the Wild, which is placed far, FAR in the future at the very end of the timeline, suggesting that all the timelines converge at one point or another to where all past events no longer matter by the time BOTW occurs... aaand I've gone cross-eyed. But, at their core, the Zelda games are all about Link exploring Hyrule (or another given world), doing a tremendous amount of puzzle solving and slaying monsters, and saving the world, it's incredibly easy to go from one title to the next experiencing a whole new journey but still feeling familiar with the controls and mechanics.

God, I'm a nerd.

[The Walrus]

50 minutes til FF7 Remake is a go. Anyone else staying up late to play a bit? 

[Sacul]

So no matter how off the rails they end up getting, at the core of it all is a party of characters going on a big adventure with lots of magic and skills and acquiring more items than any human can reasonably carry on their body at one time.

Is a game even a JRPG if it's not about a group of odd fellas exploring the world in order to defeat God with the power of friendship?

[ariich]

Stadler, is the game you played Dissidia Final Fantasy? That wasn't part of the main series, it was a completely separate fighting game involving characters from the main games. The only thing I think is interesting/fun about it is that it reveals that the games are all set in different parallel universes.

[Bolsters]

Being on Wii, it was probably one of the Crystal Chronicles games.

[Phoenix87x]

Not very far in yet, but so far I am thoroughly enjoying FFVII remake.

[Lonk]

Guys, the Prime series works great with the Wii Controller. What are you all smoking?

So I decided to play Prime 3 since it's the one I have played the least. The first 30 minutes or so I was having issues getting used to the controllers, but I agree that it works great once you get a handle on it.

I haven't done much in the game yet but enjoying it a lot.

[The Walrus]

I still had to come to work today, so I played FF7R up to the point where the demo ended, basically the end of chapter 1. I am gonna binge the heck out of this as soon as I'm off tonight.

[Phoenix87x]

I'm already very happy with the battle system. Finally, they nailed it. I wasn't down with the control one character aspect of XV or the gambit system of XII, or the sort of control other characters of XIII. This time around, the battle system found its stride.

Being able to seamlessly switch between and fully utilize other characters just by hitting left or right is genius.

[axeman90210]

I've never played any of the FF games, but I went hunting for the original version of VII in the Xbox GamePass. Turns out only XV is included right now, but the port of VII is $15 bucks. Oh well, finished my Halo 3 play through. On to ODST.

[Chino]

I just discovered that you can plug a PS4 controller into a PC and Steam recognizes it 

I recently got BeamNG and it's so freaking fun. 

[The Walrus]

I'm already very happy with the battle system. Finally, they nailed it. I wasn't down with the control one character aspect of XV or the gambit system of XII, or the sort of control other characters of XIII. This time around, the battle system found its stride.

Being able to seamlessly switch between and fully utilize other characters just by hitting left or right is genius.

I'm up to Chapter 7 so far and I agree. The battle system is stunning. There are some problems with it but overall it feels like a good evolution of 15's battle system. But it's also like Kingdom Hearts and I still can't shake the instinctive desire to jump around. I really wish they had a jump button.

Also, every main character is disturbingly hot, even the guys. I turned off all subtitles for the dialogue so I can just watch the characters 100% and the lip syncing is really good for the English dub. I think I have a crush on Jessie and Aerith. Aerith is sweet as candy, almost cloying, but gives Cloud's smartass attitude right back at him with absolutely no chip on her shoulder about it. Jessie on the other hand, while some may call her "thirsty af" (as the kids say), is aggressive, knows what she wants, and makes me feel confused about animated women.

Ahem. Um, really fun game so far. Loving it, really. Hate that I chose the 'sporty' option for Tifa because it's just her regular outfit.

[Phoenix87x]

I'm on Chapter 5 and overall really enjoying it.

I love searching every nook and cranny to see if there's a chest or some item boxes to break. And I find myself using the Assess ability with all the new enemies, and putting together specific strategies based on weaknesses, which I am really enjoying.

[Dublagent66]

Got the Deluxe Edition with all the goodies. I'm on chapter 5 as well and just loving this game! 

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Was craving a good SP game and thought why not get The Outer Worlds now when it's on sale. I'm enjoying it alot, it's very Fallout:ish and Mass Effect:ish and I ain't complaining one bit. 

[cramx3]

Put up my latest COD Warzone win video yesterday, I've been trying to tie these videos to the coronavirus as it seems very similar in some ways (in the game, you are escaping the "gas") so this one game we won from a couple weeks ago, we ended up hiding in a bunker for a good chunk of the match.  So I call this game "The Quarantine Bunker" and it's mostly just my friends and I being idiots for the match.  I think it came out pretty well

Winning Call of Duty Warzone Volume 2 - The Quarantine Bunker

and last night I played my best game, 8 kill win and our whole quad survived to the end with a total of 23 kills from the team  that will eventually make youtube, but I've got two more winning videos to make before that.  I've been trying to pump out one video a week during this while there's no concerts to keep my channel going, but I'm starting to wonder if I can do two a week, we'll see if anyone watches to make it worth it.

[Cool Chris]

Thoughts on Dishonored? i read it is a lot like the Deus Ex series, which I am a big fan of. I read it h asstealth elements, which I am not big on stealth, but those aspects in the Deus Ex games didn't bother me.

[Podaar]

In any of the Dishonored games, it's not necessary to play the stealth elements (although I would say that's where it really shines). You can violently assault and kill everyone if you wish, but the game world will become a darker place with more plague rats/blood flies and your interactions with NPC will become strained to varying degrees. Some outcomes can become quite morbid indeed.

Whichever you choose, I'd say the games are some of the best I've ever played.

[Cool Chris]

Cool thanks. I am a bit of a lumbering oaf. And I think that translates in to my first-person gameplay.

The first game is $10 on Steam and has been on my Wishlist for a while.

[Sacul]

I played the first game twice because I thought it was too short and maybe I rushed through it and missed something. But no, it just was kind of shallow, mostly considering I had played Bioshock shortly before, so dunno . It's pretty fun at least.

[ErHaO]

In my opinion, the Dishonored games shine the most with stealth, as that gameplay approach will have you learn the levels and realise how many paths there are and how well designed they are. Dishonored 2 is one of the best stealth games ever in my opinion. That said, you can absolutely slay with the powers in Dishonored and I can see how an action approach could be fun as well.

If you want Bioshock, the closest modern game is probably the Prey.

[Podaar]

In my opinion, the Dishonored games shine the most with stealth, as that gameplay approach will have you learn the levels and realise how many paths there are and how well designed they are. Dishonored 2 is one of the best stealth games ever in my opinion. That said, you can absolutely slay with the powers in Dishonored and I can see how an action approach could be fun as well.

I agree, and have played both ways. The biggest sense of accomplishment I've ever had while playing a video game, was getting through Jindosh's clockwork mansion completely undetected and without killing anyone. Wholesale slaughter is an interesting power fantasy for awhile, but I quickly get bored of it.

[Sacul]

I always play stealth so I took my time with it and explored each level thoroughly. I just kept thinking that maybe I was missing something, maybe there was more to it and the secondary missions might have more depth if I kept exploring, but it never got to that for me. In contrast the Deus Ex games had a lot more depth and many many ways to go through each level, I loved them.

But I think that what I actually wanted was more environmental storytelling, like, this is a very peculiar world, why are things like this? What are the main forces in action? How's people's daily lives like? I don't recall finding much in the way of notes, audios, or even NPCs (the streets were usually empty). I felt there was a constant hint at there being a living world, over which your actions had an effect on, but it never really showed it to me.

[The Walrus]

In "game progress" news:

FF7 - made it up to Rude. Jumped into the battle, got sick of dealing with damage spongey-ness (although I accidentally blew through the Assess menu so I missed his weaknesses). Need to try to do better tonight.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Eventually I'm going to finish chapter 4, but I am scared to death of irreversibly advancing the story beyond this point (I think I only have a couple missions in the chapter to go before it's on to 5). I heard there is eventually a point of no return in chapter 5 or 6 - at least for openly, freeing exploring the world? so maybe I'll just stay here indefinitely. Oddly enough, Red Dead 2 is the only other game besides BOTW where I've wanted to put off the main story for as long as humanly possible. At the rate I'm going, I won't see the end of the story for months or even years and I'm actually very okay with that. Perhaps after I find all the legendary animals and make everything... then I'll be ready.

Animal Crossing - bought 3.438 million bells worth of turnips for playing the stalk market this week. Hoping to make goo-gobs of money off this. I won't stop until I reach 100 million bells in the bank. Why? Why not?

Also bought Child of Light on Switch because it was on sale for $4.99, couldn't pass it up. Don't know anything about it, but I'll play it eventually.

[Phoenix87x]

I'm on chapter 9. Still enjoying it.

It just dawned on me, is part 2 gonna be on PS5? I'm guessing it would have to be considering part 1 took 5 years of development, and if that's the case, is your save file from one console going to transfer to the next? 

[The Walrus]

I'm predicting a late 2021 release for part 2, with a possible delay into the start of 2022. I'm curious if they'll change the battle system or not. I wonder about the save files as well. Surely you're not gonna get a level 99 character (if you can go that high) to transfer to the start of a brand new game.

[ErHaO]

Red Dead Redemption 2 - Eventually I'm going to finish chapter 4, but I am scared to death of irreversibly advancing the story beyond this point (I think I only have a couple missions in the chapter to go before it's on to 5). I heard there is eventually a point of no return in chapter 5 or 6 - at least for openly, freeing exploring the world? so maybe I'll just stay here indefinitely. Oddly enough, Red Dead 2 is the only other game besides BOTW where I've wanted to put off the main story for as long as humanly possible. At the rate I'm going, I won't see the end of the story for months or even years and I'm actually very okay with that. Perhaps after I find all the legendary animals and make everything... then I'll be ready.

Without spoiling the story, there are missable missions in chapter 4 and 6. But throughout most of the game and it's two epilouge chapters, most sidecontent and the open world will be available, this includes the stranger missions, hunting challenges, easter eggs etc.

I'm on chapter 9. Still enjoying it.

It just dawned on me, is part 2 gonna be on PS5? I'm guessing it would have to be considering part 1 took 5 years of development, and if that's the case, is your save file from one console going to transfer to the next? 

The PS5 is backwards compatible with the PS4, though supposedly only for a selection of games. But at the very least the PS5 will be able to handle PS4 saves in concept. And I kind of assume most major games will be compatible with the PS5.

In my opinion, the Dishonored games shine the most with stealth, as that gameplay approach will have you learn the levels and realise how many paths there are and how well designed they are. Dishonored 2 is one of the best stealth games ever in my opinion. That said, you can absolutely slay with the powers in Dishonored and I can see how an action approach could be fun as well.

I agree, and have played both ways. The biggest sense of accomplishment I've ever had while playing a video game, was getting through Jindosh's clockwork mansion completely undetected and without killing anyone. Wholesale slaughter is an interesting power fantasy for awhile, but I quickly get bored of it.

Yeah, that level is majestic in my opinion. I also cleared it unseen, though I might have killed someone.

[Herrick]

Without spoiling the story, there are missable missions in chapter 4 and 6. But throughout most of the game and it's two epilouge chapters, most sidecontent and the open world will be available, this includes the stranger missions, hunting challenges, easter eggs etc.

What are those missable missions in Chapters 4 & 6? Can they be played after the epilogue?

Without spoiling anything, there's a certain major event in Chapter 6 I think, and it really made exploring with Arthur unfun for me. 

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Me and my mom have been playing Animal Crossing as a defense against boredom and social distancing in these coronatimes.

[Ben_Jamin]

Me and my mom have been playing Animal Crossing as a defense against boredom and social distancing in these coronatimes.

I'm so glad the eggs are gone. Now I'm getting more recipes again from balloons.

[ErHaO]

Without spoiling the story, there are missable missions in chapter 4 and 6. But throughout most of the game and it's two epilouge chapters, most sidecontent and the open world will be available, this includes the stranger missions, hunting challenges, easter eggs etc.

What are those missable missions in Chapters 4 & 6? Can they be played after the epilogue?

Without spoiling anything, there's a certain major event in Chapter 6 I think, and it really made exploring with Arthur unfun for me.

No, there are several optional missions that are inherent to where to plot is in that time. For example, some of the stuff that involved Arthur's ex and the "morality" missions in chapter 6.

I found an overview:
https://www.gamerevolution.com/guides/450689-red-dead-redemption-2-missable-missions-quests-point-of-no-return/?amp

And yes I agree some events in the game will impact how you will experience the sidecontent in a major fashion. In terms of plot, I think it makes more sense to do the sidestuff pre-chapter 5.