Video Game Thread v. Wii4One

[Podaar]

And the level design confuses the hell out of me 

Yeah, the maps are huge and twist around a lot. The platforming puzzles can be quite difficult to figure out, but that's the one element of the game I enjoy the most.

[ErHaO]

Omg omg omg God of War. I played a few hours yesterday, I got up to Tyr's Bridge at Aflheim before stopping for the night. That first hour of the game had my jaw on the floor. The cinematics are crazy. I shouldn't be surprised by the graphics but I am blown away by how beautiful this game is.

The way the cutscenes blend into gameplay and viceversa is amazing. And the cutscene direction itself is sublime as well, they handled the one shot concept extremely well. And in general the game is very beautiful indeed, the scope of some of the setpieces is insane.

[Herrick]

Fallen Order is pretty decent.

I lost interest and stopped playing though sadly. And the level design confuses the hell out of me      At some point I'm gonna try and get further in it.

I really hated the level design and backtracking. Even with the map I had problems navigating especially on the Wookie planet and the planet with those Darth Maul-looking people. It really killed exploration for Herrick. I had no interest in going back to those planets to look for collectibles that "reward" me with yet another ugly fuckin' poncho color.

I thought the combat was fucking awesome when fighting imperial enemies. Blocking blaster shots just felt fucking right. But I didn't like fighting animals and some of the later enemies.

[The Walrus]

I'm way late to the party here but I cannot stop playing with God of War's photo mode.

[cramx3]

That last one reminds me of RDR2 although it would be cool if I could carry a head on my character 

I've been sick the last couple days so I've been playing even more RDR2 than I expected over the holiday break.  I think I played for 12 hours yesterday  my character is becoming extremely powerful at level 50 now (since you can unlock the better ammo and passive abilities) that I just started intentionally killing everyone late last night after playing seriously for so long and no one could stop me.  This is why I've been grinding for so long in this game, to be powerful. 

Anyway, I put up the latest RDR2 video with Chino and I stealing boats and other stupid shit.  Red Dead Redemption 2 Online Fun Volume 3

Also included in that video is being locked in an office through a bug, the moment you realize you are trapped and have to kill yourself to get out:



I've got another video completed last night and sooooo many more clips I can just keep pumping these out.  Seems like I'm the only one who enjoys them (based on views and thumbs up) but whatever, it's fun to have the moments in game and then edit them together so if no one else likes it, whatever, it's fun to me.

Oh and one more thing to rave about in RDR2, they have the new Outlaw Season Pass 2 now.  Typically I don't buy these things, I hate in game purchases but for legit DLC I don't mind, but these are cosmetics and in game things that aren't terribly meaningful.  However, you can use in game gold to pay for it.  Since I've played so much, I didn't have to pay cash for the season pass and with my gold, I almost unlocked the entire thing (I think I'm level 80 of 100 on the season) which included so far 25 gold back which I was then able to buy the Moonshiners DLC.  How awesome is it that I don't even need to give Rockstar money for all the extras? 

[Stadler]

I'm way late to the party here but I cannot stop playing with God of War's photo mode.

That middle photo is cool AF.

By the way, some of you are owed a thank you; I finally just bailed on Far Cry 2 (finished it without achievement-whoring) and started Far Cry 3, and it is SO MUCH BETTER.  This is a good game; or so it appears so far.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

The gameplay was great in Farcry 3. The story was all kinds of hokey, but eh. Farcry 4 was more of the same, as was Farcry 5.

[The Walrus]

Spider-Man's photo mode is just as good as God of War's. Only complaint is that the frames are all kind of lame (but I usually only go for the cinema-style black bars, anyway).

[The Walrus]

Okay, Spider-man took over my life this week, but I have a feeling I'll wrap it up tomorrow if not tonight. I might actually 100% it - I'm 75% complete.

I really want to start Red Dead this weekend but I know I gotta get through Horizon first. At the same time, I'm afraid I'll become addicted to Horizon and never get to Red Dead. If I like it a lot, it's going to be really hard to not do all the side stuff in HZD.

[cramx3]

Too bad you aren't on PC to join the RDR2 posse

Now that I've got explosive and fire arrows, this game has gotten a lot more fun https://twitter.com/Cramx3/status/1212538076867842049

[The Walrus]

Honestly, I don't even know if I'm gonna go back to PC gaming at this point, apart from emulation. I'm both surprised and sad by that revelation. 

[Chino]

Honestly, I don't even know if I'm gonna go back to PC gaming at this point, apart from emulation. I'm both surprised and sad by that revelation. 

I'm saying the exact same thing about consoles now  I just got a PC a few months ago and like it so much more. I actually didn't renew my PS+ subscription for the first time since the service was made available. The only thing that might get me to buy a PS5 is the fact that GTA-IV will likely only be available on consoles for some time.

[The Walrus]

That is pretty funny. I think I'll get back into PC gaming eventually, since it was my life for all my teens and most of my 20s. Maybe the end of the next console generation I'll go balls to the wall and build a ridiculous rig again, and if we're all still PC gaming at that point I can finally join the fun   

[cramx3]

Honestly, I don't even know if I'm gonna go back to PC gaming at this point, apart from emulation. I'm both surprised and sad by that revelation. 

I'm saying the exact same thing about consoles now  I just got a PC a few months ago and like it so much more. I actually didn't renew my PS+ subscription for the first time since the service was made available. The only thing that might get me to buy a PS5 is the fact that GTA-IV will likely only be available on consoles for some time.

I held out for rdr2 and I think it was worth the wait. I'm not falling for that trick again to buy a console just for rockstar when the pc version will be available and the better experience. Plus while waiting you can play pc exclusives like mordhau which I played for the first time awhile last night.

[The Walrus]

I beat Spider-man this morning. The story was great, and the final act was just awesome. However I still have about 10 suits to unlock and I have quite literally done everything in the game other than silver and gold star the 'challenge' medals, so I need to research why they're not showing up (unless the DLC has 10 suits, because I haven't bought any of it yet). I got through it super fast because it was so addictive, I'm actually glad I'm done with it 

Now I'm a couple hours into Horizon Zero Dawn. Such a beautiful game. I'm so impressed with the photo mode other than how it lacks film grain, which I loved using in a lot of my GoW and Spidey pics. Also, Aloy's facial expressions just don't look that good to me - however, the variety of poses is wonderful. Adds much more fun to the photo mode.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I beat Spider-man this morning. The story was great, and the final act was just awesome. However I still have about 10 suits to unlock and I have quite literally done everything in the game other than silver and gold star the 'challenge' medals, so I need to research why they're not showing up (unless the DLC has 10 suits, because I haven't bought any of it yet). I got through it super fast because it was so addictive, I'm actually glad I'm done with it 

Now I'm a couple hours into Horizon Zero Dawn. Such a beautiful game. I'm so impressed with the photo mode other than how it lacks film grain, which I loved using in a lot of my GoW and Spidey pics. Also, Aloy's facial expressions just don't look that good to me - however, the variety of poses is wonderful. Adds much more fun to the photo mode.

I've never been a fan of film grain in video games. It's kind of like using motion blur when there is an option to turn it off. It's just ugly, imo.

[The Walrus]

I beat Spider-man this morning. The story was great, and the final act was just awesome. However I still have about 10 suits to unlock and I have quite literally done everything in the game other than silver and gold star the 'challenge' medals, so I need to research why they're not showing up (unless the DLC has 10 suits, because I haven't bought any of it yet). I got through it super fast because it was so addictive, I'm actually glad I'm done with it 

Now I'm a couple hours into Horizon Zero Dawn. Such a beautiful game. I'm so impressed with the photo mode other than how it lacks film grain, which I loved using in a lot of my GoW and Spidey pics. Also, Aloy's facial expressions just don't look that good to me - however, the variety of poses is wonderful. Adds much more fun to the photo mode.

I've never been a fan of film grain in video games. It's kind of like using motion blur when there is an option to turn it off. It's just ugly, imo.

I only like it for taking action film-style shots (which, turns out, is quiteoften). Letterbox border, particular lighting, otherwise the film grain doesn't work so well imo. I'm with you on the motion blur though.

[cramx3]

My friend redid his basement, got a new couch and put up shelving for his classic video game room.  It's insane how much old school games he has and how he has all the equipment for up scaling the old games to make them look as good as possible. 

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

That TV is too small for the distance to the chairs

[Stadler]

That looks sweet.  I hope he's saving his pennies for a good 70" Vizio though; it might be the picture on the screen, but it DOES look a little anti-climactic. 

[Herrick]

The gameplay was great in Farcry 3. The story was all kinds of hokey, but eh. Farcry 4 was more of the same, as was Farcry 5.

These games have fun gameplay but the stories were all pretty much forgettable for me. The villains are pretty annoying especially Vas & the Cult Clowns from FC5. And I always hated the drugged up parts.

[ErHaO]

Ubisoft needs to hire better writers and/or give them a bit more freedom to be honest. Mainly plot progression needs to be less systematic/clearly structured. Most modern Ubisoft games have several sections that you very clearly go to in a certain order, each with it's leader as the boss and the same mission structure leading up to that boss. And all sections are about as long, like a "monster of the week" tv series structure. At this point, the emphasis on that formula hurts their games. Witcher 3, for example, has several acts that feel distinct in terms of scenarios, pacing, atmosphere and how the open world is utilized (certain parts are more linear and closed off, others are open). And everything coherently leads up to several satisfying climaxes.

Assassins Creed Oddysey (I finished the core family story) has a couple of moments where things click, but also a lot of moments where the story is not that good and I don't know what the fuck is going on with the modern day storyline, even after googling it. Thankfully, the Assassins Creed games tend to be filled with colorful characters that I enjoy, so that helps a lot. And modern day is becoming less of a thing. Still, I think it is a good game and the gameplay is super addictive.

[cramx3]

That looks sweet.  I hope he's saving his pennies for a good 70" Vizio though; it might be the picture on the screen, but it DOES look a little anti-climactic. 

The angle doesn't help the picture at all, but it is a bit smaller.  What you can't behind the lamp on the left is the 65 inch wall mounted tv and behind the couch on the right is another couch.  I think his wife had some input on which side of the basement got the bigger and better TV.

[Podaar]

Phew! I finally defeated Taron Malicos in the boss battle on Dathomir. It took a shitload attempts to discover a weakness to exploit on this dude, but once I did, I got him the second try. If anyone else is playing Fallen Order and is struggling with this boss battle, I'd be happy to share what I learned.

[Herrick]

Phew! I finally defeated Taron Malicos in the boss battle on Dathomir. It took a shitload attempts to discover a weakness to exploit on this dude, but once I did, I got him the second try. If anyone else is playing Fallen Order and is struggling with this boss battle, I'd be happy to share what I learned.

That was a bit of an annoying battle but not too bad. My big problem was the last Boss. It was very difficult for me to figure out when to parry when the Boss was twirling their lightsaber and spinning around and shit. I was playing on Jedi Master difficulty. I could only heal myself 3 times. I think you can have up to 5 or 6 health stims. I never found the rest of the upgrades because exploring those levels became a fucking chore.

[Podaar]

I could only heal myself 3 times. I think you can have up to 5 or 6 health stims. I never found the rest of the upgrades because exploring those levels became a fucking chore.

Actually, I currently have 10 stims available. Exploration and platforming is one of my favorite parts of this game.

[Herrick]

I could only heal myself 3 times. I think you can have up to 5 or 6 health stims. I never found the rest of the upgrades because exploring those levels became a fucking chore.

Actually, I currently have 10 stims available. Exploration and platforming is one of my favorite parts of this game.

10 stims Good Lawd! You won't have too much trouble with the last Boss then.

[Podaar]

I could only heal myself 3 times. I think you can have up to 5 or 6 health stims. I never found the rest of the upgrades because exploring those levels became a fucking chore.

Actually, I currently have 10 stims available. Exploration and platforming is one of my favorite parts of this game.

10 stims Good Lawd! You won't have too much trouble with the last Boss then.

I find your overconfidence in my gaming skills disturbing.

I'm the proverbial console newb. I've only ever played 3 games on my PS4 (HZD, Spider-man, Fallen Order) and it has taken me three years to do it.

[The Walrus]

Horizon Zero Dawn is an awesome game so far. I've no idea how long the story is, but I just made it to Meridian. However, one of the main story quests brought me to an area with monsters to kill who are level 18, and I was only level 12. So I actually high-tailed it back to the starting area of the game in order to do sidequests, because I basically hauled ass to Meridian and didn't take time to explore the wilderness. When it comes to open world games, I just want to get lost. I can already tell this game is going to keep me busy for a very very long time - I might have to juggle playing it with something else. I feel a compulsion to see every corner of the wilderness whether there's something interesting there or not.

One thing I do not like - and it's a problem with almost every open world game ever, except Breath of the Wild - is I end up turning my brain off, because I just follow the quest markers on screen. 1700 feet away... 1200... 700... almost at destination. Rinse and repeat. It's very hard for me to focus on the environment and immerse myself in the world this way, especially when the world map is loaded with icons. So, I've turned off all icons on the map except for towns/cities and collectibles. And the world is gorgeous, but I find it very very difficult to orient myself and figure out where something is without constantly opening the map to look at the auto-route to the quest destination. A minimap would help solve this issue - and it's baffling why there isn't one in this game, of all games. The world map is pretty but lacking in distinctive features to my eye. I hate to compare this to Breath of the Wild but they released around the same time and I still play BOTW to this day and it does so much so right with respect to open world game design and it's hard to not be annoyed by some of these things.

Okay, that said... I am digging the hell out of this game. It is complex, it demands patience and biding your time. And very much like Breath of the Wild I am able to crank up the volume to enjoy the ambience and the sounds of nature as I'm crouching in the grass waiting to strike. Although I'm doing a very poor job of being stealthy even on 'story' difficult. Somehow everything is able to detect me or suss me out even when I'm hiding, especially those bastard Watchers. If it wasn't for them always detecting me I'd probably not be playing on the easiest difficulty setting. Ideally I want to play on 'hard' and save 'very hard/ultra hard' for a NG+ someday, but not until I figure out how to take out a whole pack without being detected.

I really do like this game and although it has several things I don't like about most AAA open world games the positives greatly outweigh the negatives, no question.

[ErHaO]

I think Horizon is a great game. It's combat and story/setting are the best factors for me. Fighting a thunderjaw with your entire arsenal of gear never gets old.

And while I don't even like most side characters that much, I am surprised how good the core storyline is. The setting is great and the whole story behind it is thought out really well.

For me, the game shined its most during main missions, with a more focused level design and plot development, all the while having awesome encounters. The world is beautiful and all and there are interesting things to be found, but Horizon was a main quest game for me.

I will probably check out the DLC one of these days.

[Herrick]

I think Horizon is a great game. It's combat and story/setting are the best factors for me. Fighting a thunderjaw with your entire arsenal of gear never gets old.

And while I don't even like most side characters that much, I am surprised how good the core storyline is. The setting is great and the whole story behind it is thought out really well.

For me, the game shined its most during main missions, with a more focused level design and plot development, all the while having awesome encounters. The world is beautiful and all and there are interesting things to be found, but Horizon was a main quest game for me.

I will probably check out the DLC one of these days.

I have to agree about the story. The stories in these 3rd person action RPGish games don't usually draw Herrick in but this one interested me. I liked the main character (Aloy), The King or Prince (can't remember his name) and the character played by Lance Reddick.

I played the DLC right after finishing the main story and I don't recall much about it, story-wise. One of the things the DLC added was a "skill" to be able to loot stuff while mounted. To me that's an essential ability and a huge oversight that it wasn't a part of the base-game skill tree. I bought one of those Game of the Year versions that included the DLC so I lucked out.

[The Walrus]

Gave in and bought GTA5 for the third time because the premium online edition was on sale for $15. Also got Witcher 3 complete edition for the same price, because why not (second time I've bought it now, hopefully I dig it this time). Figured I can't pass up those two games especially since Witcher was 70% off.

[Herrick]

Ahhhh The Witcher 3. One of the few games I've replayed. I wouldn't mind playing through it again. Perhaps when I put my new PC together. My current build stopped working last week...on the same day I was looking at new parts for a future build. Very strange 

I bought Bloodborne to keep me occupied while I wait for my PC parts to arrive. I'm not even a big fan of these games and swore I'd never play another one after beating Dark Souls...yet there is something about these games that makes me want to play them. I have The Surge, Sekiro, Dark Souls 2, & Nioh in my Steam library but haven't played much of them.

[The Walrus]

I really want to play those Soulsborne games but they're so unbearably, unenjoyably difficult and tedious for me. Which sucks because Bloodborne and Sekiro look incredible.

[Herrick]

I really want to play those Soulsborne games but they're so unbearably, unenjoyably difficult and tedious for me. Which sucks because Bloodborne and Sekiro look incredible.

The thing I dislike about them the most is having to fucking run back to the boss after dying. That gets boring real fast to the point where I start to look up tactics on how to beat the boss. I have very little patience for it.

And what's up with not being able to pause the game when you're offline?