General Video Game Thread

[Ghost]

@Ganymede Oh I know, but from a poetic standpoint I really liked this interpretation and it made the ending better for me.

Kinda like the interpretation of Prometheus I read, which turned it from BLAH to WHOA for me.

ETA: I think sometimes games/movies have this artistic point that they fail to deliver, but if you look close enough you'll see what they were trying to do. That maybe the director was shooting for KING LEAR and through bad storytelling they didn't get their artistic points across, but after a closer look/2nd viewing with some insight it makes so much more sense.

ETA2: Prometheus interpretation was one that related the creation of the first xenomorph to the birth of the antichrist, and thus the first day of the eventual end of mankind.

[Sparks]

@saosmash said in General Video Game Thread:

@Testament Wow I love both of those DLCs, that's a hard call for me.

Seriously. Just go ahead and ask people which of their children is their favorite, why don't you.

[Thenomain]

@Sparks said in General Video Game Thread:

@Sparks said in General Video Game Thread:

I enjoy the DA games greatly, but there's little question which BioWare franchise truly owns my heart.

...as attested to by the fact that my housemate is now listening to the Mass Effect soundtrack while she writes, and hearing that distinctive music is giving me a little dopamine hit of happiness that very other video game soundtracks—as much as I might love them—can inspire in quite the same way.

Inon Zur absolutely can write a goddamn moody piece and I still love DA2’s soundtrack because of it, but damn if the Mass Effect trilogy doesn’t nail loneliness, exploration, and struggle throughout. And The Citadel is fun throughout but still undeniably Mass Effect.

tl;dr: I Agree

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@Coin : Fuck you for quoting the entire thing. Just saying.

—

@Testament :

Because you can't really review something that's 'memorable' or 'intimate'.

Like hell you can’t. There’s a reason I watch Movie Bob; he does this all the time.

And I talk about it with Sparks and Gany. You’re right that these are not objective (back when you said that DA2 was “objectively good”, incidentally), but a good reviewer will explain how these elements affect their review. Many do.

Also, Merril is a fucking idiot.

She is also quite brilliant. She is young. She is trying to change things. She is desperate. You can watch her pain and her change. She is a realistic character in an actual story.

DA2 has very few of these.

• Varric and his brother (really the story).
• Merrill and the mirror and her place with the elves as someone expected to lead them one day.
• Hawke’s mom. (Short but powerful.)
• Hawke’s uncle, if you’re lucky.
• Avelline coming to terms with herself.

Everything else you see little bits of. Pedo noble. Hawke’s surviving sibling. Er, the dreamshaper kid. Even Anders, who is meant to be a major npc.

I admit I don’t have time right now to read the rest of your post because you know I have mentioned at least one of your criticisms toward people who think DA:I is better than DA2, so I’m not that worried.

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@Ganymede :

I just think that DA2’s stories were not good enough to make the game good. I can continue, but this particular thread of discussion is pretty much worn out now. I’m not trying to convince anyone DA2 is garbage, tho it’s good to see where people find love and fun in it.

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Also: I fully feel that Citadel was the real end of the story, they just needed to finish up the plot.

[Coin]

@Thenomain said in General Video Game Thread:

@Sparks said in General Video Game Thread:

@Sparks said in General Video Game Thread:

I enjoy the DA games greatly, but there's little question which BioWare franchise truly owns my heart.

...as attested to by the fact that my housemate is now listening to the Mass Effect soundtrack while she writes, and hearing that distinctive music is giving me a little dopamine hit of happiness that very other video game soundtracks—as much as I might love them—can inspire in quite the same way.

Inon Zur absolutely can write a goddamn moody piece and I still love DA2’s soundtrack because of it, but damn if the Mass Effect trilogy doesn’t nail loneliness, exploration, and struggle throughout. And The Citadel is fun throughout but still undeniably Mass Effect.

tl;dr: I Agree

—

@Coin : Fuck you for quoting the entire thing. Just saying.

—

@Testament :

Because you can't really review something that's 'memorable' or 'intimate'.

Like hell you can’t. There’s a reason I watch Movie Bob; he does this all the time.

And I talk about it with Sparks and Gany. You’re right that these are not objective (back when you said that DA2 was “objectively good”, incidentally), but a good reviewer will explain how these elements affect their review. Many do.

Also, Merril is a fucking idiot.

She is also quite brilliant. She is young. She is trying to change things. She is desperate. You can watch her pain and her change. She is a realistic character in an actual story.

DA2 has very few of these.

• Varric and his brother (really the story).
• Merrill and the mirror and her place with the elves as someone expected to lead them one day.
• Hawke’s mom. (Short but powerful.)
• Hawke’s uncle, if you’re lucky.
• Avelline coming to terms with herself.

Everything else you see little bits of. Pedo noble. Hawke’s surviving sibling. Er, the dreamshaper kid. Even Anders, who is meant to be a major npc.

I admit I don’t have time right now to read the rest of your post because you know I have mentioned at least one of your criticisms toward people who think DA:I is better than DA2, so I’m not that worried.

—

@Ganymede :

I just think that DA2’s stories were not good enough to make the game good. I can continue, but this particular thread of discussion is pretty much worn out now. I’m not trying to convince anyone DA2 is garbage, tho it’s good to see where people find love and fun in it.

—

Also: I fully feel that Citadel was the real end of the story, they just needed to finish up the plot.

Hrm?

[Jaded]

@Ghost
It almost sounds like you're talking about the Indoctrination Theory, which was a fan-made theory that put a lot of things that didn't make sense across ME1-3 into perspective.

The only thing for certain that I do remember before Bioware changed how the whole ending fired off - was that if you took the Renegade option, it was the only option where at the end of the credits there was an end-game scene where you saw Shep's body and the character wakes up. And in the ~10 seconds of scene footage, it looks like you are still in the wreckage just prior to entering the gate that would have taken you up to the Citadel.

The other two options did not have such a thing. To a lot of people, that indicated that this was the best choice and the true ending of the game.

Anyways, here is a link for the Indoctrination Theory if you're interested in looking at it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ythY_GkEBck

[Ghost]

@Jaded Yes! That's what it was. Indoctrination Theory. Thank you.

[Thenomain]

@Testament said in General Video Game Thread:

It was supposed to be so different, but it got changed and we're supposed to just gloss over the whole 'suns going out/dark energy' stuff that was pressed so hard on us in ME2'. You know, that massive plot hole.

You mean brought up in one recruitment mission and never again?

I think I know why we have such conflicting opinions on BioWare games, because we are picking up on entirely different things from them.

--

Incidentally, here's what I think the "sun oddity" was about: http://www.starflt.com/

Star Flight, an ancient PC game about explorers going from planet to planet running a little buggy across sometimes hostile terrains. The thing had big wheels and was kind of bouncy. This is DOS-era, so it was more how it looked than how it acted, but doesn't this sound eerily familiar?

Fuel was found in these ultra-rare crystals on some planets, and fuel was very important because many, many suns were getting dangerously hot, like they were suddenly aging faster than they should be, so finding the fuel and exploring around for a reason why is the main plot.

The secret (I'm going to spoil a 30-year-old game, sorry everyone) is that the stars are living creatures and the bits you're burning up for fuel to find this out are their eggs. (Honest, it makes sense when they tell it.) So the stars are going to kill everyone for using their eggs as fuel.

I see the whole writer's bit as an homage to Star Flight, much like the Mako, and offered up as a plot hook that wasn't picked back up. It's too bad, because I was excited to see it.

I say this because I heard that the spilled plot was about The Singularity, and it's too bad they didn't just own the shit out of this because that sounds fantastic.

--

All of this talk reminds me of the other game where I felt that the DLC was better than the main game: Fallout: New Vegas. I don't say that lightly because FONV was amazing, but the combination of the DLCs is a whole second game, not just a few things that happen for fun (and they are fun, even Dead Money and don't let anyone tell you otherwise). It even shares the same themes as the main game: What is it to be a people? A city-state, a country, a tribe.

Ahh, philosophizing over video game writing. Makes me all warm and happy.

[Bananerz]

Picked up Battlefield V in the discount bin for $20, so I'm quite late to this game.

Gripe 1: Squads that don't want to act together or talk. We get extra goodies! But, judging by all the cool looking avatars versus my Generic GI, I think they've got it all and I'm cheering at my little receiver skin. Still, it's far more fun to play as a squad and work together on taking over objectives. Mmm, feels good.

Gripe 2: I dislike the whole battle royale thing. It's like when zombies were a thing, and every game out there had to have a damn zombie.

Yay 1: I really like being able to revive anyone if I can and it makes sense.

Yay 2: Building is fun.

[Testament]

It's been four years since I last touched Dragon Age Inquisition. Going to give it another go and see how I feel about it so many years after it's came out.

I still dislike how grindy it is.

[Jaded]

If you play Mechwarrior Online and you're sure you'll get Mechwarrior 5 later this year, today is the last day on pre-order to get one of the exclusive mechs for MWO.

https://mw5mercs.com/

[Coin]

Finally played (and finished) God of War 3.

Damn, that end is brrrrrutal. I kept hitting the circle button wondering when the fuck it would end, lol.

Then I started the new God of War for PS4. >.>

[Jaded]

Anyone who has been eyeballing Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Fanatical has a great deal on the game with all DLC at 50% off right now, making it about $35.

[Ganymede]

@Jaded

I fucking hated that game with a passion. Buggy fuckshit.

[Tempest]

Would've bought that if it had character creation.

[Ganymede]

@Tempest

I wanted something different, and I got it.

I normally enjoy the games I buy.

[Jennkryst]

So I finally got a new, decent-ish gaming laptop and have finally been able to play some of the games I bought and missed out on (and hear the siren song of new games), so that's fun.

Stationeers is early access, but holy shit. I have never played Minecraft, buuuut... it looks Minecrafty. With a graphics update. And everything isn't a cube voxel. And the ideal gas law. And power cables that will melt or catch fire if too many watts go through it (just like the aliminum wiring in my house!). And an explosive decompression... 'cannon', let's say. And... in game logic coding? I... I learned (incredibly basic) assembly language to tell solar panels how to do a semi complicated thing. Just do it already.

Battletech... is a game I kickstarted, played a smol bit of the beta, and when the game released for realsies, just crashed my computer after the intro video. But now that I own a working computer, it is fantastic. My need for a Battletech MU is back again. Get on it, @Thenomain.

Warmachine Tactics I wanted to like. Truly. But they don't have Circle or Tharn for me to run around all cannibalism-y, so. Boo on them. Unless they added that while I wasn't looking.

Osiris New Dawn is... not owned yet, but the siren song is strong. I shall resist. Bloop.

[Roz]

Holy SHIT I cannot even put GRIS into words. It's absolutely stunning. I'm not quite finished, but DAMN.

[Thenomain]

@Jennkryst said in General Video Game Thread:

My need for a Battletech MU is back again. Get on it, @Thenomain.

I summon for thee @Volund and his Evennia Insanity Project, or EIP, or Volund-Codes-Everything-Because-He-Feels-Like-It. He's doing this Dragonball game unlike any other because, get this, your arm can be removed from your inventory and still exist as something people can pick up and loot.

(edit: Or probably hit other people with. Why limit it?)

[Deleted]

@Thenomain That's a pretty normal feature in MUDs/MOOs re: arm removal and lootage/combat applications.

[Sparks]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GLbwkfhYZk

Hello yes please I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

"Single-player story-driven RPG" already has my interest; setting it a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away merely seals the deal for a Star Wars fangirl.

I probably shouldn't get my hopes too high, but... Star Wars. I can't help it; give me a lightsaber and my good judgment goes out the window.