What are you currently playing? Last game played?

[OmarBradley]

Well, tomorrow I'll be playing Assassin's Creed Odyssey. I was initially not planning on preordering or buying the game at all. But I found a good deal for the Gold version which includes the Season Pass and Early Access on 10/2.

This game seems to be a step up from Origins, which was several steps above the past few AC games. I'm not thrilled like I would be in the days of playing AC:B/III/Revelations/IV on release, but given the reviews and footage I've seen of this game, this may actually be not that bad. I didn't like Origins much, but that was mainly due to the narrative - which is supposed to be a lot better in Odyssey. along with more fleshed out RPG mechanics. I slightly prefer this setting too, as Thucydides is one of my favorite authors/historians. 

[OmarBradley]

On 10/1/2018 at 4:36 PM, Oldest Goat said:

It does sound like they've stepped up and actually made a proper game rather than their usual churned out bs.

It's pretty good so far. The main character (I picked Alexios, but I believe Kassandra is canon) is much more likable than Bayek IMO. The story and setting are a bit more gripping too. Although still taking place a couple thousand years ago, the historical era is a bit more well-known and relatable than Origin's was,

Regarding the graphics, the same thing happened with Origins, but I'm not as impressed with the visuals as I hoped I'd be. I see a lot of people noting the graphics as one of the game's best qualities, but I don't think it looks exemplary. I'm playing on mostly maxed out settings with a GTX 1080. I really think at least their rendering engine needs a significant upgrade, and a surprising amount of the textures look poor. This has been the case with certain textures since at least Unity, and I'm blaming it on console optimization. But other series' release hi-res texture packs for PC, while I don't believe AC has. Very annoying, as a lot of the textures in question really take away from the game's overall aesthetic. 

A lot of the mechanics from Origins were basically dropped into Odyssey with little revision/updating: the ability system, the inventory system, and the items/loot systems are pretty similar, as is combat (but a parry mechanic has replaced the shield/blocking). I've noticed things like the squeezing between two rocks to get into/out of a cave and the Eagle Vision system being about identical to Origins' systems as well. But honestly, all of that stuff works so it's not a major complaint. And hopefully there are new mechanics being introduced throughout the narrative, since I'm still pretty early on.

Overall, so far it's pretty fun, I just wish it had more of its own identity and looked a bit better. This is running a lot better than Origins though, it's less taxing on my hardware and I've encountered no stutters/crashes or bugs (yet).

Edited October 4, 2018 by OmarBradley

[AxlRoseCDII]

I’m about a year late but breezed through Sonic Forces in about four hours tonight. This game is painfully average. Great music and graphics but...painfully average.

 

oh. And the final boss can f**k right off to hell.

[Gibson87]

On 9/15/2018 at 12:00 PM, Silent Jay said:

CoD WWII

I grew up on that shit. Good times man

EDIT: I got that confused with World at War, haven't actually played WWII yet 

Edited October 7, 2018 by Gibson_Guy87

[RussTCB]

Nothing else to play lately really, so I've just been playing a lot of Madden 19. The reduntant commentary REALLY grinds on you if you're trying to play more than a couple of games in a row.

[Willis1988]

Spider Man on the ps4, which is some of the most fun I’ve had playing a game in a loooong time. The story is one of the best I’ve seen outside of the comics, the recreation of NYC is beautiful, and swinging through the city webbing up bad guys is too damn fun. First game I’ve beaten 100% since probably high school, I highly recommend it! 

[DeadSlash]

7 hours ago, RussTCB said:

Nothing else to play lately really, so I've just been playing a lot of Madden 19. The reduntant commentary REALLY grinds on you if you're trying to play more than a couple of games in a row.

Honestly, HOW has Madden not gotten commentary straightened out in all the years of doing this?  It's went downhill after like 93' when the only commentary was like "Whap!" and "Oh no, there's a man down."

Stupid side note - for whatever reason, the year they added Pat Summeral saying "Oh no, there's a man down!" it has become iconic among me and my circle of friends.  If we were walking down the street and a meteor came from the sky and crushed one of us to death, one of the survivors would say "Oh no, there's a man down!"

[arnold layne]

13 minutes ago, DeadSlash said:

Honestly, HOW has Madden not gotten commentary straightened out in all the years of doing this?  It's went downhill after like 93' when the only commentary was like "Whap!" and "Oh no, there's a man down."

Stupid side note - for whatever reason, the year they added Pat Summeral saying "Oh no, there's a man down!" it has become iconic among me and my circle of friends.  If we were walking down the street and a meteor came from the sky and crushed one of us to death, one of the survivors would say "Oh no, there's a man down!"

Since Madden has monopoly rights to NFL likeness the product has suffered. 

NFL Blitz 2000 and the iteration before are the best football games to play and those came put twenty years ago.

[DeadSlash]

1 minute ago, arnold layne said:

Since Madden has monopoly rights to NFL likeness the product has suffered. 

NFL Blitz 2000 and the iteration before are the best football games to play and those came put twenty years ago.

The 2K series was awesome too.  I think there is still stuff in 2k5 that Madden hasn't caught up to yet.

[arnold layne]

1 hour ago, DeadSlash said:

The 2K series was awesome too.  I think there is still stuff in 2k5 that Madden hasn't caught up to yet.

Absolutely. There is still an underground network updating those rosters today. 

[Juventino]

F1 2018, and I'm getting my nostalgia fix with the Sonic game that came out last year but I only just picked up.

[AxlRoseCDII]

Started Shenmue last night. I’m forcing myself to play through the game but jesus is the first few hours kind of boring. I know people find this game special so im forcing myself to finish it no matter what and not judging a game by it’s first few hours.

[AxlRoseCDII]

1 hour ago, Oldest Goat said:

Yeah I've been put off. Seems like a poor man's Yakuza.

So far, yes. Trying to stick it out since I’ve heard such amazing things from people about it. 

[OmarBradley]

On 10/3/2018 at 8:40 PM, OmarBradley said:

It's pretty good so far. The main character (I picked Alexios, but I believe Kassandra is canon) is much more likable than Bayek IMO. The story and setting are a bit more gripping too. Although still taking place a couple thousand years ago, the historical era is a bit more well-known and relatable than Origin's was,

Regarding the graphics, the same thing happened with Origins, but I'm not as impressed with the visuals as I hoped I'd be. I see a lot of people noting the graphics as one of the game's best qualities, but I don't think it looks exemplary. I'm playing on mostly maxed out settings with a GTX 1080. I really think at least their rendering engine needs a significant upgrade, and a surprising amount of the textures look poor. This has been the case with certain textures since at least Unity, and I'm blaming it on console optimization. But other series' release hi-res texture packs for PC, while I don't believe AC has. Very annoying, as a lot of the textures in question really take away from the game's overall aesthetic. 

A lot of the mechanics from Origins were basically dropped into Odyssey with little revision/updating: the ability system, the inventory system, and the items/loot systems are pretty similar, as is combat (but a parry mechanic has replaced the shield/blocking). I've noticed things like the squeezing between two rocks to get into/out of a cave and the Eagle Vision system being about identical to Origins' systems as well. But honestly, all of that stuff works so it's not a major complaint. And hopefully there are new mechanics being introduced throughout the narrative, since I'm still pretty early on.

Overall, so far it's pretty fun, I just wish it had more of its own identity and looked a bit better. This is running a lot better than Origins though, it's less taxing on my hardware and I've encountered no stutters/crashes or bugs (yet).

Okay, I was wrong about the graphics. While there are a few surprisingly poor textures (namely, rocks on mountainsides and a few others here and there), this game looks incredibly good. Once you get past the first area and start seeing the sights and the rest of the isles/mainland, it's really pretty spectacular. Though this game shares a lot of assets with Origins, the shading is a lot better and the color diversity is mesmerizing at times. The lighting is well done, except I think midday is too bright and sometimes dark spaces act oddly in regards to light. But overall, this is an excellent looking game. Though I still maintain a hi-res texture pack for PC would be welcome for some of the lower quality textures.

The Greek cities are perhaps my favorite cities in the series, simply because of how good they look and how they are designed. And there are so many! Not all of them are huge, but most are decent sized and it really makes the world feel more populated. Obviously with Origins, you had a large portion of the map being uninhabited desert, so it's no surprise the small Greek isles feel fuller than Egypt, especially when a city/town takes up a quarter (or more) of the island/map. A decent portion of this map is also water, something to consider.

For the first time (didn't use it in Origins), I was actually compelled to use the photo mode, and I got some pretty awesome shots (double click to enlarge):

https://postimg.cc/gallery/2k8w90v9q/

Now, this is on PC at 1440p with one of the top gaming monitors with maxed settings, but I have to imagine the game still looks darn good on consoles or lower powered rigs.

After I finish, I think I'll do a more general review, but I am thinking this is a contender for GoTY.

[wasted]

Finished Metro Last Light, started Bioshock Infinite. 

Was playing Fifa 14 and had a go on Forza Horizon. 

Solid 10 hour session. 

[OmarBradley]

Played a bit of the beta for Fallout 76.

Overall, it's not for me. I didn't play with any people, and although the game can be played solo, it's more intended for group play. That being said, I don't think group play would entice me enough to buy this, given the issues.

PC performance is awful. This is the worst performing game I've played in the last 3-4 years. Not only is performance pretty poor, the game just doesn't look that amazing. It looks like a tuned up Fallout 4, which wasn't amazing looking itself. 

I found a lot of the new mechanics kind of interesting actually and I like what they did with some of the standard mechanics in terms of revamping them for multiplayer and generally innovating/improving.

However, the biggest issue for me is the lack of human NPCs. I'm not the kind of player who likes to sit and read those green computers or read holotapes to get all of my lore. Some of it, sure. But, not a majority of it. And nothing against anyone who enjoys that, but it's just not for me. The second biggest issue is the engine. It's really showing its age. I know game engines are complicated, multifaceted instruments, but I really don't know how much further Bethesda can go with gaming by continuously modifying this engine. I luckily didn't encounter many bugs in my two hours of play, but a lot of people are noting bugs and crashes (a lot of standard engine bugs). Also, game speed is tied to client FPS, so the higher your FPS... the faster you run, walk, crawl, jump, attack etc.. Once you get above 120 FPS, the speed up starts. I imagine they'll lock FPS to 90 or 120 or perhaps 60.

Perhaps multiplayer integration is the cause for a lot of the mechanical/performance issues, since the engine was not built with multiplayer in mind. Either way, this does worry me a bit for Starfield. 

Also, I'm also not the biggest Fallout fan to begin with - much prefer the high fantasy setting of ES. So don't be dissuaded from trying the game if you think you'll like it.

 

[Coma16]

Playing a lot of Hollow Knight lately. Fantastic game, especially for only $15!!!

Edited November 6, 2018 by Coma16

[wasted]

Getting deeper into Bioshock Infinite. Not sure if I’m just used to the mechanics or if 2 and Infinite are just easier to control. Infinite is more like a fairground ride than a game. 

[wasted]

3 hours ago, Oldest Goat said:

Yeah Infinite is very on-rails. Was really disappointed by it in every way except the art style.

Is it actually Bioshock 3? I think 2 was a good balance, 1 gave me RSI but I might just suck at videogames. This one I never run out of ammo or health really but that means I can just jolly through this messed up world. 

[wasted]

12 minutes ago, Oldest Goat said:

1 has the best story and characters. 2 has the best gameplay. Infinite is a pretentious on-rails mess, sadly.

It’s fun but I feel like it’s more like Bioshock the fairground ride. It kind of plays like Sonic. I sort of enjoyed 2 and 3 better than 1 though. 3 is too easy though. 

I’m sort of expecting them to make the first one into a movie. 

[DeadSlash]

On ‎10‎/‎14‎/‎2018 at 9:30 AM, wasted said:

Finished Metro Last Light, started Bioshock Infinite. 

Metro is one of my favorite series of all time.  I really hope the next one isn't a let down.

[wasted]

40 minutes ago, DeadSlash said:

Metro is one of my favorite series of all time.  I really hope the next one isn't a let down.

I’ve played 2 Metro games, is there another one coming?

is Dishonored 2 out?

[DeadSlash]

Yes, and yes.  Exodus in the new Metro game due the end of February, Dishonored 2 is just called Dishonored 2.

[wasted]

3 hours ago, DeadSlash said:

Yes, and yes.  Exodus in the new Metro game due the end of February, Dishonored 2 is just called Dishonored 2.

On Xbox 360? I might have to get a One. 

I could play Metro, Bioshock and The Darkness series again though. I still get lost in Dead Island now and then. 

Edited November 9, 2018 by wasted

[OmarBradley]

13 hours ago, wasted said:

I’ve played 2 Metro games, is there another one coming?

is Dishonored 2 out?

Dishonored 2 came out in late 2016 and it is AMAZING. One of my top 3 games I've ever played.