Video Game Thread v. Wii4One

[Evermind]

I play ranked League of Legends sometimes and I just mute everyone as soon as the game begins.

This is a smart thing to do in toxic games like COD, but I generally enjoy and do better when a team is communicating.  I join so many lobbies where someone says "mic check" and if the whole team doesnt respond, they just quit (I don't do this because I feel like it would take forever to find a match to actually play).  The reality is, if you aren't communicating, your chance of winning goes down the toilet in some of these games.

I usually tentatively leave my support (as I play adc) on as long as he's not a toxic asshole, otherwise we can communicate with pings pretty well.

I suppose the whole communication thing works at better ELO (rank), but as I'm in Silver 3, communication won't do shit. Whenever I leave the chat open, it's usually everyone blaming each other.

It also really depends on the server you're playing. I'm playing EU West and it's toxic as hell. My friend plays on Japanese server and he sucks as much as I do and the players there are like the chillest people ever.

[cramx3]

I'm not familiar with the game to comment about that, but some games do have really good ping systems (like Apex Legends) that works really well for communicating without talking.  I guess that works even better if you are playing with Japanese so it's not like you speak the same language anyway. 

Sadly, I find the ping system to be pretty bad in COD and that it doesn't replace talking at all. 

I also find the most toxic people are actually kids on console in that game. At the end of the day, I love getting into a lobby with people who talk but not only just for the gameplay, but to have fun together, crack jokes, speak about the game.  Whatever.  In a BR game, there's usually some downtime so just chatting about anything makes it so much more enjoyable.  That was one thing I really enjoyed with Sea of Thieves, everyone chatting and acting like pirates 

[Ben_Jamin]

I'm peeping my little head in to say...

Paper Mario Origami King, is great.

The visuals are amazing. I like how the Origami and background is 3-D, while Mario and townsfolk are Paper. It's still got the same humor and 4th breaks as the other Paper Mario series.

The battling system takes a bit of getting used too, and I quite enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to line them up correctly in time, but once you do it's fun. The boss battles are more simpler and less stressful than the normal fights (Thank the almighty one there).

I'd say if you enjoy Paper Mario and it's RPG comedy then you'll enjoy this.

I haven't beat it yet.

[The Walrus]

^^ I can't wait to play that, hopefully sooner than later.

That new Halo's looking pretty awesome.

[Ben_Jamin]

^^ I can't wait to play that, hopefully sooner than later.

That new Halo's looking pretty awesome.

I keep forgetting you changed your username....

[ErHaO]

^^ I can't wait to play that, hopefully sooner than later.

That new Halo's looking pretty awesome.

Was watching some of the xbox trailers and honestly thought Halo looked.... mediocre? Graphically at least.  I am genuine if I say that If it looked like this on my Xbox One I would not be impressed, and this is supposed to be next gen footage. Seems the internet is making fun of it as well, graphically.



Good recent xbox news though for me is that Gamepass will include the xcloud streaming service, as I have a sub till march 2022, this means I will be able to play all next gen xbox games without buying the machine. Microsoft has bought some of my favourite studios and I am very much looking forward to their games.

[Chino]

^^ I can't wait to play that, hopefully sooner than later.

That new Halo's looking pretty awesome.

Was watching some of the xbox trailers and honestly thought Halo looked.... mediocre? Graphically at least.  I am genuine if I say that If it looked like this on my Xbox One I would not be impressed, and this is supposed to be next gen footage. Seems the internet is making fun of it as well, graphically.

Same. Between that trailer and GTA-V launching on its third generation of consoles, I'm not overly optimistic about next gen yet 

[The Walrus]

I thought the new Halo looked really, really good graphically. Even if it's not the best looking thing ever, what planet does one live on where THAT qualifies as "mediocre"?

[Chino]

I thought the new Halo looked really, really good graphically. Even if it's not the best looking thing ever, what planet does one live on where THAT qualifies as "mediocre"?

I'd argue RDR2 blows that game away visually, and that probably started development 7 years ago.

[Elite]

Having grown up on Halo 1 through Halo: Reach, looking at that trailer makes me wonder what the hell happened to the series. Things look different from what I'm used to Halo being. I have probably more hours into the Halo franchise than other games combined, especially Halo 2 & 3 multiplayer, but I stopped following the series when I finished high-school. I only played Halo 4 once and thought it was .. alright and never bothered to check out 5, which as I'm seeing right now, gets very mixed reviews. What happened? :O

[The Walrus]

I thought the new Halo looked really, really good graphically. Even if it's not the best looking thing ever, what planet does one live on where THAT qualifies as "mediocre"?

I'd argue RDR2 blows that game away visually, and that probably started development 7 years ago.

Well, yes, but RDR2 is not only an exceptional game in almost every meaningful way, it's one of the best looking games ever made. And keep in mind it started development 7 years ago, that doesn't mean the graphics were made and finalized right there, they were likely tuning the graphics right up until the very end, and the game isn't even 2 years old yet. But that's a whole other subject; even compared to RDR2 I fail to see how Halo Infinite looked "mediocre". Mediocre implies not very good. I think we're at the point with graphics where it's actually hard to make something look mediocre, this isn't a Gilson B. Pontes game, it's Halo. Looks polished as fuck. I'm not saying anyone's WRONG for thinking it looks bad but to me that's just a really bad angle to look at it from

I dunno - me and my best friend are psyched for this, I hope I get to play it on his Xbox. It looks like they're really trying to channel Halo: CE which is exactly what I was hoping for.

[cramx3]

I thought the new Halo looked really, really good graphically. Even if it's not the best looking thing ever, what planet does one live on where THAT qualifies as "mediocre"?

People who play on PC?  I didn't watch much but what I saw and what I read on twitter, doesn't look impressive at all.  I'm sure it'll be a fun game, as I love the Halo games, but graphically not impressive.

This image being an example easily found on twitter ripping the games graphics, left being Halo Reach on xbox 360, right being Halo Infinite on xbox series x:



also this image which is just kind of funny



Those may not be the greatest examples in reality, but even the short clips I watched just looked like something I've already seen before.

[The Walrus]

Yeah yeah PC master race with your graphics that make consoles look inferior, I guess. Is there no gray area between "impressive" and "mediocre"? Jeeze, you'd think people are looking at Wii graphics. I think we're super spoiled as gamers if we're calling this mediocre. It looks slick and polished and it's running at a consistent 60FPS. Looks awesome. Of course it looks like something you've seen before. It looks like every f'ing shooter released in the last 10 years. Military grade weaponry make big booms and flashy firing effects against monsters. Sounds like half the FPSes ever released on Xboxes 

PC gamers always be like "bro I can't see every mote of dust in the air or every scratch on my gun 2/10 graphics"

[Podaar]

I thought the 8 minute game play demo of Halo looked graphically tight, but stylized. Given the nature of the enemy voices, the Looney Tunes weapon effects, it probably should be at least a bit cartoonish. If it was hyper realistic, it would be even more out of place, given the elements I just mentioned.

Is anyone interested in Ghost of Tsushima? I'm probably going to pull the trigger on that one when fall rolls around and I have more time for gaming. I think it looks fun as hell.

[The Walrus]

Is anyone interested in Ghost of Tsushima? I'm probably going to pull the trigger on that one when fall rolls around and I have more time for gaming. I think it looks fun as hell.

Dude, it's amazing. The amount of ways you can attack and kill enemies is insane. Look at this ridiculous kill:

https://twitter.com/SunhiLegend/status/1285353539045404678

It's one of the two best looking games I have ever seen, too (the other being RDR2). I find myself stopping almost every few seconds to play with the photo mode, no exaggeration.

[cramx3]

Yeah yeah PC master race with your graphics that make consoles look inferior, I guess. Is there no gray area between "impressive" and "mediocre"? Jeeze, you'd think people are looking at Wii graphics. I think we're super spoiled as gamers if we're calling this mediocre. It looks slick and polished and it's running at a consistent 60FPS. Looks awesome. Of course it looks like something you've seen before. It looks like every f'ing shooter released in the last 10 years. Military grade weaponry make big booms and flashy firing effects against monsters. Sounds like half the FPSes ever released on Xboxes 

PC gamers always be like "bro I can't see every mote of dust in the air or every scratch on my gun 2/10 graphics"

I don't think it's mediocre, but I don't think it's impressive for new gen console.  Using the xbox 360 graphic comparison really kind of makes the pc master race moot as one can compare it just to previous games on older generation consoles.  I only went PC master race route because you questioned how someone could find it mediocre and figured that's a solid answer.

[ErHaO]

Yeah yeah PC master race with your graphics that make consoles look inferior, I guess. Is there no gray area between "impressive" and "mediocre"? Jeeze, you'd think people are looking at Wii graphics. I think we're super spoiled as gamers if we're calling this mediocre. It looks slick and polished and it's running at a consistent 60FPS. Looks awesome. Of course it looks like something you've seen before. It looks like every f'ing shooter released in the last 10 years. Military grade weaponry make big booms and flashy firing effects against monsters. Sounds like half the FPSes ever released on Xboxes 

PC gamers always be like "bro I can't see every mote of dust in the air or every scratch on my gun 2/10 graphics"

I am hardly a PC master race. I just genuinely think this looks underwhelming. For this generation, sure it looks fine. But the studio was literally boasting about the series X being ten times as strong right after this footage. Red Dead II on the One X for sure looks a lot better. As does Gears 5. Both with large open sections and draw distances.

Look, this does not mean the game sucks. I think Fire Emblem on the Switch is one of the ugliest games ever made, but the game was awesome. And one of my favourite series is Yakuza, those games ain't lookers either, at all. I just thought that, yes, for a big budget AAA reveal this looked mediocre. And the 2018 teaser looked like this btw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmdb-KmlzD8. That is not even remotely close, and this was presented as an 'in engine demo".

As for character models, an article on Halo Infinite linked this tweet comparing Joel and the visually similar Halo character.
https://twitter.com/digitalwolf7/status/1286364169944485888. Halo is the premier AAA series of microsoft, I really do expect more here. 

[TioJorge]

Jumping in the graphics conversation as someone that grew up with consoles and got DEEEEEEP into PCs (both gaming and otherwise, I now have a career in the IT industry, but bare bones, nothing to write home about). Graphics are just the same as anything else. Douchebags that think their PCs equate to their dick size are the only ones that get all huff-and-puff about it. It's bullshit. If you like retro graphics and game on PC: awesome! If you like high-end graphics and have a PS4: awesome! You like what you like. There are games that I have played on PC that could EASILY be played on a console that I have spent so many more hours on than a game that can ONLY be played on PC at a certain setting and have had substantially less fun. It's all about what you enjoy, what you expect, what you like and what you paid for.

I've played about 200 hours of Dead Cells on PC. I've played 50 on Switch. The Switch version, to me at least, is vastly superior. It's literally the same game but on the Switch. It's a game that is made to be played on all platforms. But I got in early and I played early and by the time it was on Switch, I was mostly over it. I LOVE that it's on Switch though because that is the definition of a game that is "on the go fun". But it didn't work out that way for me. I would have loved to experience it for the first time on the Switch. My point is that your own situation determines what you get out of it. Anything.

I LOVE Death Stranding because the graphics fit the game. It's basically a playable movie with highly interactive scenes and long scenarios, intercut with cinematics. The graphics fit the game. If that game was a 2D pixel art game...it'd be ridiculous. If Dead Cells was an open world beat-'em-up with graphics that demanded a minimum of a GTX1070 on PC and pushed the PS4 to the limits, it'd be ridiculous. Fit what the game is to the graphics, and if you like it, then awesome. The whole war and comparison game is for pre-pubescent fuckwads, honestly.

[cramx3]

Jumping in the graphics conversation as someone that grew up with consoles and got DEEEEEEP into PCs (both gaming and otherwise, I now have a career in the IT industry, but bare bones, nothing to write home about). Graphics are just the same as anything else. Douchebags that think their PCs equate to their dick size are the only ones that get all huff-and-puff about it. It's bullshit. If you like retro graphics and game on PC: awesome! If you like high-end graphics and have a PS4: awesome! You like what you like. There are games that I have played on PC that could EASILY be played on a console that I have spent so many more hours on than a game that can ONLY be played on PC at a certain setting and have had substantially less fun. It's all about what you enjoy, what you expect, what you like and what you paid for.

Nothing wrong with all of that but when you present a new console that you expect people to pay for to get better graphics and then you see it in action on their biggest exclusive game and it doesn't look that impressive (looks good, but does it look good enough to spend 500 on to upgrade good?) then I think it's open to some criticism. 

I've already said I'm sure the game is going to be good and the graphics are fine, but none of that makes me think it's worth getting the new console. 

[TioJorge]

I mean...that's kind of a different discussion altogether. Or I missed your point. I would never, and have never, bought a console for a single game. That's ludicrous, in my mind. I've WANTED to buy consoles for a game, but have waited for what's to come. Gamecube is a great example. If Resident Evil 4 was a launch title, that system would have sold ten fold the amount that it did in the beginning. You buy a console for the potential and for what's to come. You're basically gambling on the companies to back it and for the 1st party games to deliver in the forefront (and hopefully the end).

I agree on the expansion and evolution aspect: If there's a system that's 500-600 bucks, you'll want it to deliver on all fronts. But games are not a one-size-fits-all category. There's 100% certain going to be games on the PS5 that can be played on a PS3 because of the indie genre. There's going to be games that push it to the limits after it's been out for a few years. There's going to be multi-platforms that play on the PC like a dream and push the PS5 to its limits. It's all over the place now because they're so similar these days. That's really all I'm saying. There's something for everyone. The days of "This system will play this game at this resolution and FPS and it will ONLY play on our system" are fucking lonnnnng dead. Dead and gone. It's fusing into one category slowly but surely. There is a very, very, very thin margin of seclusion and individuality among consoles and PCs today.

Also...just throwing this out there: Halo Infinite is the beginning. Not the end. If you push your system to the limits with one of your launch titles, you're doing it wrong. Halo Infinite will take advantage of the technology and will use it to the best of its current capabilities. But if the last game that appears on the PS5 looks like Halo Infinite...something has been bent over and fucked.

I use the Gamecube reference because it's such a fucking drastic change from buying a Gamecube on release and playing Luigi's Mansion and then playing Resident Evil 4 at the end of the cycle. It's a massive punch to the gut and a wake up call that developers utilize the system, not the other way around.

[ErHaO]

Jumping in the graphics conversation as someone that grew up with consoles and got DEEEEEEP into PCs (both gaming and otherwise, I now have a career in the IT industry, but bare bones, nothing to write home about). Graphics are just the same as anything else. Douchebags that think their PCs equate to their dick size are the only ones that get all huff-and-puff about it. It's bullshit. If you like retro graphics and game on PC: awesome! If you like high-end graphics and have a PS4: awesome! You like what you like. There are games that I have played on PC that could EASILY be played on a console that I have spent so many more hours on than a game that can ONLY be played on PC at a certain setting and have had substantially less fun. It's all about what you enjoy, what you expect, what you like and what you paid for.

I've played about 200 hours of Dead Cells on PC. I've played 50 on Switch. The Switch version, to me at least, is vastly superior. It's literally the same game but on the Switch. It's a game that is made to be played on all platforms. But I got in early and I played early and by the time it was on Switch, I was mostly over it. I LOVE that it's on Switch though because that is the definition of a game that is "on the go fun". But it didn't work out that way for me. I would have loved to experience it for the first time on the Switch. My point is that your own situation determines what you get out of it. Anything.

I LOVE Death Stranding because the graphics fit the game. It's basically a playable movie with highly interactive scenes and long scenarios, intercut with cinematics. The graphics fit the game. If that game was a 2D pixel art game...it'd be ridiculous. If Dead Cells was an open world beat-'em-up with graphics that demanded a minimum of a GTX1070 on PC and pushed the PS4 to the limits, it'd be ridiculous. Fit what the game is to the graphics, and if you like it, then awesome. The whole war and comparison game is for pre-pubescent fuckwads, honestly.

As my comment started the discussion I'll clarify: I am not interested in gamer wars, in fact I hate them. But that doesn't mean I can't say when I am underwhelmed by footage and when I think it looks quite below par for modern AAA games made by studios of hundreds of talented people, hence why I give examples (of games I can play right now on old consoles). This was a literal AAA graphical showcase of the next big console. It doesn't even mean I think the game will suck. In fact, the grapple hook stuff looks fun and the whole open exploration of a Halo ring sounds very good.

For reference, I play on the Switch, Xbox One and PS4 Pro and play the entire range of low budget to high budget stuff. My gaming laptop died, unfortunately.

To indicate how lenient I am to shit visuals: I am playing and enjoying Deadly Premonition 2  And that game truly looks awful.

[The Walrus]

The days of seeing big leaps in graphics from gen to gen are over. I think a lot of gamers generally speaking don't think about that. The leaps now are more behind the scenes stuff

[Sacul]

Started replaying Kentucky Route Zero now that it's complete and also the interludes are included. Such an amazing game. I've also played Sayonara Wild Hearts and Beeswing. The former is a syntwave-ish music game, very fast paced, very creative. Wished controls weren't kinda clunky and the themes a little stronger but damn it was a lovely and short experience. Beeswing as well except it's a pretty experimental piece with hand-drawn and watercolor-painted art about grief, getting old, existentialist dread, and small towns. Amazing soundtrack too.

[TioJorge]

Right, you're completely within your right to expect a certain standard.

I hate to use this example, but with the way you're phrasing your argument, I feel like it fits. If you can't build the chair you're criticizing, don't sit in it. It feels like a pompous reaction to a criticism at first; but really, buy a better one if you can't stand it. If not, then build a better one. If not THAT, then shut up and take the negatives for what it is and look for the positives. To be blunt. It doesn't mean you can't criticize it. But if sure as shit defaults your criticism to bottom-of-the-barrel opinions if you take it far enough.

Do you know how many people were "underwhelmed" with certain games that ended up being masterpieces of their time and artistic pillars of the community that inspired others to create something better? The orignal Halo inspired tens of thousands of FPS games. Zelda: The Wind Waker inspired developers to say "fuck you" to the majority of gamers that hated on "cartoons" and create something cartoony in place of the "adult" style that dominated the time. The original Walking Dead Telltale Games showed the world that video games can be a medium of storytelling, not just point-and-shoot fun. (Granted, the end result wasn't so great but the medium lives on). The list goes on for the games that broke ground and defied mediums to create a new genre or a new way of playing entirely.

My point is that you can hate all you want on the visuals of console releases, but that's a bit like judging the final score of a new MLB pitcher. Sure, do it. Fine, the scores are legit. It means jack shit. The end result is what means something. If Gamecube was judged on its initial releases and ended on the same note, it'd be the lowest selling, least evolving console in history. Instead it blew people's expectations away (more specifically, the developers did) with the last few games.

Again, it's a game that is releasing right now and it is what it is, I get it. Judge the game, not the system. Judge the artist, not the canvas. That is my only point. This game would be SO much better when made during the middle-life of the new Xbox as opposed to a release title.

[cramx3]

The days of seeing big leaps in graphics from gen to gen are over. I think a lot of gamers generally speaking don't think about that. The leaps now are more behind the scenes stuff

This is true, but also, this gen is coming out pretty quickly compared to last gen so IMO, if you are going to release a next gen so quickly, it should be worth it for the improvements.

I mean...that's kind of a different discussion altogether. Or I missed your point.

You are right, I kind of went onto another point about the selling of a console, but I feel like it's related.  If you want to show off your new console with your flagship game, it should be impressive not just with gameplay (no one is questioning that in this case as far as I'm concerned), but with the technical abilities of the new system. 

Also...just throwing this out there: Halo Infinite is the beginning. Not the end. If you push your system to the limits with one of your launch titles, you're doing it wrong.

Also correct, history has shown that the games near the end of the lifespan of a console were significantly better at pushing the boundaries of the hardware as developers got better working on it.  But that's not really relevant in terms of selling the console when it goes on sale as we also know from history, the original consoles are not as good as the console that are made later during it's lifespan (either in terms of bugs, RROD, or just a newer slightly better version of the console)

I don't think we are really disagreeing at all here, just my opinion is the graphics of the new Halo really didn't look impressive so it really doesn't make me think I should buy an xbox series x.

Also, I have very little interest in buying a console again so my opinion is fairly meaningless.  No one should buy a console for 1 game, but with exclusive games, it kind of becomes important especially as cross play is becoming more prominent. 

[TioJorge]

SO true. Microsoft is basically saying "Our games are for everyone that owns anything Microsoft related (i.e. either PC or Xbox)". So it's suuuuper blurry right now. And I do agree on the console-showing aspect. You want me to buy your system? Show me the goods. If the goods aren't turning me on, then I'm buying elsewhere. That is the current state and it's hardcore as hell. I'm 31 and most people playing these things are half my age and get their money from mom and dad, which is cool; but it also means less leeway. I can buy my PC dream and also a console. Most of these kiddos will spend their Christmas and B-day presents on one console and a few games for said console. Least that's how it was in my day. I can only relate so much. 

I'm gonna go ahead a bet that the current state of the virus-infested world doesn't bode well for the younger gen. So yeah, it definitely matters.

I hope for Microsoft's sake, Halo Infinite is the bottom of the barrel. On the same token, I hope that for the Halo franchise's sake, it's the beginning of a new series and not the pinnacle, because I agree that it's not impressive.

[Lonk]

This might be the reason I get an X-box again. One of my favorite game franchise from Microsoft.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oVkSZXPklQ4&feature=youtu.be

[The Walrus]

I gotta say I've bought consoles for 1 game before. Didn't pay off with the Wii but I put 450 hours into BOTW before I really played anything else hahaha

[Sacul]

Wii had amazing games tho

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

This might be the reason I get an X-box again. One of my favorite game franchise from Microsoft.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oVkSZXPklQ4&feature=youtu.be

So that's the Open World RPG that Playground Games has been working on for the last couple years..... Interesting.

[The Walrus]

Wii had amazing games tho

I camped out overnight for one and I stan Nintendo real hard but I disagree with that haha

[Chino]

YASSSS!

https://www.rockstargames.com/newswire/article/61639/GTA-Online-and-Red-Dead-Online-Updates-Coming-Soon?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=gtaordo-updates-07242020&utm_content=newswire

With both games playing home to more players than ever before in recent months, we know the community has been awaiting news of any updates for GTA Online and Red Dead Online and we are happy to share that both games will receive exciting new updates in the weeks ahead.

For Red Dead Online, players can expect a massive new update to arrive Tuesday, July 28th featuring a new Frontier Pursuit that will introduce players to the secrets of naturalism as part of an all-new Role, plus a new Outlaw Pass, tons of community-requested features and fixes, and much more to play and discover in the months to come.

A summer update to GTA Online is also on the way, offering up a fun mix of diverse new content from the game’s massive array of experiences to enjoy.

Later this year players can expect more big updates for both games, including some exciting new extensions and augmentations to an existing role in Red Dead Online, and the biggest ever update for GTA Online, featuring our latest take on Heists in an entirely new location.

Community Feedback

Thanks to your submissions via our official feedback channels, we have added a number of highly requested features across recent updates – including musical instruments in Red Dead Online, the ability to run all businesses via the Master Control Terminal in GTA Online and more. More of your suggestions will find their way into our games in the next few weeks, so please keep the feedback coming by sending us your thoughts via the GTA Online and Red Dead Online feedback pages.

We are also committed to ensuring that our games are fun for everyone and as safe as possible from modders, cheaters, hackers and those who seek to harass other players. So far this year, we have taken action on hundreds of thousands of players caught violating community rules across both games. Please help us keep our communities safe and fun by reporting any sort of cheating either directly in-game or via our dedicated web reporting tools for both Red Dead Online and GTA Online.

[The Walrus]

Now why can't they add stuff like that into the single player games? Why can't they make a DLC package where I can play musical instruments in the single player RDR2? Rockstar's complete rejection of adding anything to the single player experiences really annoys me. It's not like they don't already have all the money in the world. Jeeze. At least RDRO players finally get new content.

[ErHaO]

Now why can't they add stuff like that into the single player games? Why can't they make a DLC package where I can play musical instruments in the single player RDR2? Rockstar's complete rejection of adding anything to the single player experiences really annoys me. It's not like they don't already have all the money in the world. Jeeze. At least RDRO players finally get new content.

Would love to see that, yes. Not really an online player for these games.

But at least Red Dead Redemption is a massive game chock full of content on it's own.

[The Walrus]

Hey so remember how I said I probably won't build a PC til the end of the PS5/XSX cycle? Looks like I'm buying a new PC from my buddy who had a customer back out, today or this weekend (in the next few days, regardless). 

It has a 1080 Ti in it. I might take it out (since it's going to be a music rig) and just put it in my other rig.