General Video Game Thread
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Courtesy of @Auspice's advice on the xbox pass thing, I've been playing The Outer Worlds, and while I think it's a good game I can absolutely understand anyone who would have criticisms. It's pretty clear that the game benefited hugely from comparison to Fallout 76 and is being hyped in response to it. I've talked about the whole BioWare/Black Isle/Obsidian/etc lineage so these comparisons are reasonable but it does give people an agenda in wanting to love one and shit on the other, even though The Outer Worlds is... 80% Fallout in space, with a visibly smaller budget.
The writing is great. But the companion quests are really thin. Having seen the reviews and chatter, I was primed for the Parvati stuff but there's... very little to it? The idea of dealing with her sexuality being one thing you talk about was intriguing, yet it being the full extent of the character was a let down.
And compared to a game that focuses on it (I think this is relevant to @Thenomain's comparison with Borderlands) the combat is mediocre: there are all of... I want to say a dozen different enemies in the game (if you don't count variants), and RPG wise I wouldn't say the numbers and systems are well designed: armor has close to no value on 90% of enemies, plasma is almost always the right damage type, stuff tends to get one-shotted or kill you equally fast, etc.
I did like the character creation a lot, but there are still cg traps despite the 'play your way' hype. This is actually exacerbated by the respeccing, since some skills are really only useful in the between-mission sense, so that its better to respecc in and out occasionally than actually play with them (looking at you Science). Experimenting with the Flaws, they're not fun, just punishing. The drugs (and consumables in general) are underwhelming or outright terrible: why would you ever use Adrena-Time?
This isn't to say it's bad. Its a fun game with a solid story and some great characters (ADA continues the creators legacy of hilarious artificial characters) and probably worth one replay for a different playstyle and major decisions (and hardcore mode), but its definitely not the holy savior of gaming that some of the coverage is hyping it as.
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@Auspice Right? It's a really simple core experience, but there's so many things to work out and learn that it keeps on being more to explore. There are almost no games I'd accept this little of a tutorial in...
Honestly, it seems to be just about everything I hate in video game design (aside from microtransactions) but I still love it to a possibly unhealthy extent.
(Through my day, in the idleness of the work week, I find my thoughts drifting to evocative writing, subtle world-building, and the constant running of timers. While I cruise MSB for shitposts, its tantalizing icon beckons me, almost inexorably. Just a hint, a touch, to see if my next Dream action might yield the next step of my progression...)
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So. Has anyone played Death Stranding yet? I'd like to hear some thoughts.
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I finally today earned my Codex of Xerrath, yay me!
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I just found out they announced Crusader Kings III. Where's a gif of Rinel's avatar?
EDIT - Found it.
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Yooooooo.
For anyone doing that XBox Game Pass on PC thing:
Anyone with a Discord Nitro account (I just got one the other week to poke around with it; was gonna get rid of it after the month) is being given 3 months of XBox Game Pass free.#winning
sweet.
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@Ominous jesus christ no
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So my preliminary impressions on Jedi - Fallen Order:
It plays like the most recent entries into the Tomb Raider franchise complete with the jankiness that comes from those games in terms of character movement and controls. They feel like they are too loose and not as precise as they should be in for movement and actions like jumping and leaping. Another good comparison would be Uncharted but I think that game had smoother movement/action controls and animation than this does.
They sprinkle a bit of Dark Souls in with the boss fights, which makes them really not all that inspired and as the game progresses they add difficulty by making the enemies bullet-spongy, so they take more hits to knockdown. More memorable boss fights were had, in my opinion, with past entries like Jedi: Outcast and the Force Unleashed.
Lightsaber combat is pretty polished though and is one of the areas that seems smooth in terms of animation and how the character moves. It is one of the best highlights of the game. Integrating other force powers into your actions seems clunky at first - or I should say, not intuitive, but once you get used to it, it ceases to be all that noticeable.
The sound design is well done and aside from the occasional uncanny valley look other human characters get during cut scenes - the game hits the notes graphically of Star Wars very well.
Overall, it is fun to play and you can get lost in the atmosphere once you get used to the character movement and controls. Might be worth full price if you can't wait to have the game, otherwise, I'd say give it time to drop about $20.
ETA: I think it should also be noted that the main character, Cal, is Mocapped and voiced by Cameron Monaghan, who played Jerome in Gotham. If you are familiar with the show there will be times where his distinctive voice style comes through pretty heavily and you might have Gotham flashbacks.
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the new pokemon is real cute
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@Roz said in General Video Game Thread:
the new pokemon is real cute
I still haven't decided which one I want (also just got Death Stranding with the gift card from OpenCare* so I am gonna wait until after the new year anyway prob).
I know other than like, the legendary they are often functionally the same but aaaaaaaaagh.
*it is a site where if you use it to find a dentist they will send you a gift card. Usually $75 but sometimes they will do specials of like, $115 or so. If you need to find a new dentist I 100% recommend. I mean a) I actually found a decent dentist and b) heeeeeeey money.
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wannagohomerightnow
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It's winter.
That means it's time to play Skyrim again.
I'm at 216 mods. I've gone too far, please send help.
But it's running surprisingly well. Vortex is a better mod manager than I expected.
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Death Stranding is a game where you throw Norman Reedus' pee and bathwater at ghosts and occasionally stop to rock your pod baby back to sleep.
Ask me about professional wrestling.
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@Dreampipe
Lock and load your battle fetus and off to war you go... -
SENUA SEQUEL!
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When you've got a common pokemon down to 1 HP but the motherfucker will NOT stay in a pokeball. What the fuck!
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I’m really enjoying The Outer Worlds. The dialogue is witty; the gear system is crunchy but not too crunchy; and the skill and perk system is simple to understand and play with. As a casual gamer, this fits right into how I like my gaming experiences.
Would be nice to know how and if there will be DLC.
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Idea: When the new Predator game comes out on PS4, we get a group of MUers together and play.
Hide and seek murder for the win
Delete the Hog Pit. It'll be fun.
I really don't understand He-Man -
@Ghost said in General Video Game Thread:
Idea: When the new Predator game comes out on PS4, we get a group of MUers together and play.
Hide and seek murder for the win
I'm in.
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