What Video Game Are You Currently Playing?

[seed]

1 hour ago, Lila Feuer said:

@seed You think that's bad? Try Ground Zero. It's ruined by the overpowered turret enemies that Rogue seem to have a fetish for (looking at you Strife). Total pacing killer.

 

Thanks for the heads up, I'll remember this when I get to the expansions, which I've not played yet. Gonna be "fun".

 

15 minutes ago, ReaperAA said:

I am on E4 of Daikatana (reached "Mishima Labs" to be precise). Although the aesthetics and level design of E4 are not as great as E2 and E3, I am still enjoying it due to my weapons being so powerful (I have maxed out both power and attack speed) that I am mowing down enemies pretty quickly. However, this isn't gonna last forever as hitscanners are returning in full force from Mishima Labs onwards.

 

E4 had a rough start for me honestly, I managed to miss the bottle the first time around and managed to softlock myself as a result at the end. Wasn't fun wasting 2 hours for nothing but oh well, can't really hold that against the game as I saw it early on but avoided to pick it up for some reason...

 

I've maxed out my power and attacks stats now, awesome to mow down through enemies now :D :D .

 

[Avoozl]

The later TES games made it so you can simply spam the attack button to defeat an enemy, I'm not sure that's really much better honestly, also finishers can be bullshit too, the game takes your control away and you can die from bullshit moments you could've otherwise prevented.

 

Honestly I don't feel the combat makes up for how feature stripped the last game is, it feels more like an action adventure with RPG elements compared with say Morrowind and Daggerfall.

 

In Morrowind's case there's an attribute (agility) to make missing happen less and you have to watch your fatigue, there's also the optional warrior sign which gives you a +10 to your attack which also helps.

Edited May 26, 2020 by Avoozl

[seed]

23 minutes ago, Avoozl said:

Well I disagree, the later games made it so you can simply spam the attack button to defeat an enemy, I'm not sure that's really much better honestly, also finishers can be bullshit too, the game takes your control away and you can die from bullshit moments you could've otherwise prevented.

 

Honestly I don't feel the combat makes up for how feature stripped the last game is, it feels more like an action adventure with RPG elements compared with say Morrowind and Daggerfall.

 

Yeah, not gonna argue with that, that's exactly what I meant by "oversimplified". But I also disagree that the combat is bad. I mean sure, it isn't great, but the weapons and everything feels much more satisfying and less clunky than in the previous games, even though I wouldn't necessarily call it "good". But I would definitely say it's decent at least, and gets the job done.

 

2 hours ago, seed said:

E4 had a rough start for me honestly, I managed to miss the bottle the first time around and managed to softlock myself as a result at the end. Wasn't fun wasting 2 hours for nothing but oh well, can't really hold that against the game as I saw it early on but avoided to pick it up for some reason...

 

I've maxed out my power and attacks stats now, awesome to mow down through enemies now :D :D .

 

And Daikatana is over.

 

So, final episode isn't too bad, the puzzles are quite straightforward, and the enemies weren't bad at all since at this point in the game the player is tougher, but the enemy usage and placement is also much better than the mess from episode 1. I also liked the environmental traps near the end, which felt natural considering where the player was headed, you wouldn't expect the final boss' lair to be easy to get into.

 

Mishima was a weak boss, but not as bad as Cerberus was. He only has a couple of attacks, one of which is rather obviously inspired by the Cleric's Traductus, but he otherwise goes down easy, in just a few hits. It was interesting to see what Hiro changed the timeline into, guess all characters are back, except for you know, Mishima.

 

So overall, with the patch Daikatana is well worth a shot, but at the same time, it also doesn't quite turn it into an actual "good" game, yet it does make it fairly decent and glitch-free. It just leaves the player with the impression that it could have been so much more, but the vision just couldn't be fulfilled at the time. The fact that episode one's gameplay is so badly designed also kinda ruins it, but it could be saved if the hitscanners would be nerfed, and the excessive turret bullshit is dialed down. That, at least, would make it an episode that is fun to play, than an incredibly frustrating one. It's simply far too unbalanced for a starting episode, which is a shame since the levels themselves aren't garbage.

 

The fact that the characters are boring and none of them are explored are also a minus for a game that wants to be story-driven, they tried, but ultimately none of them are even remotely interesting, and they're basic to the bone. I also wish the story was more complex, because a lot more could be done with the premise, at least in terms of lore, but instead it's a simple time travel story to stop a villain. I don't think it has much replayablity, but it's worth a couple of playghroughs since episode 2 and 3 are just so much fun, easily the best parts of the entire game. Again, the obnoxious first episode might kill the fun at first, but at least it gets better after that, so going through that hell does pay back. I think the second difficulty is perfect for this game to play on, the other episodes would be fine on Shogun I guess, but since episode one lacks proper balancing so much, it's just not worth it.

 

I give it a final 7/10 ("Decent" - 8 would've been "good"). It has plenty of flaws that prevent it from fulfilling its potential, but patched, without companions, it most certainly is a decent game and it gets far more hate than it deserves. I imagine that the lack of polish is way more noticeable without the patch, but it gets rid of that issue, so who cares anymore since there's a better way to play the game now.

[ReaperAA]

@seed Well what do you know. I came to post the very same thing as I also just finished Daikatana. Episode 4 may not be as fantastic as E2 and E3, but it still is an enjoyable one. The weapons felt very satisfying and enemies are nowhere near as B.S as those of Episode 1. The environment traps at the end of E4 are also nowhere near as unfair as some claim them to be.

 

A lot of what I could have said about the game has already been said by Seed above my comment. What I would like to add is that while the game isn't polished, the player can still see that the game was very ambitious and creative, unlike post-Romero id software games like Quake 2, Quake 3 and onward, which were extremely polished but lacked that "spark of creativity".

 

Despite the manner in which the game was initially released, I would still recommend old-school FPS fans to try it out. While the game deserved all the harsh reviews back in the day, I feel that Daikatana is a far far better game now and doesn't deserve such harsh reviews anymore, simply because most of the "critical" issues have been addressed in some form.

 

Imho, the main issues with Daikatana were:

- Game breaking bugs and glitches

- Terrible companion AIs

- Limited Saves

- Episode 1 having terrible enemies and combat.

 

The unofficial 1.3 patch addresses 3 out of 4 of the issues and only the issue of Episode 1 remains. When Episode 1 is completed, the game suddenly becomes a much better game because none of the "critical" issues remain after getting past E1 (and playing with no companions or limited saves using the patch).

 

When I played Daikatana a couple of years ago using companions, I found the game just decent, but not good. But without playing with companions this time, I feel that the game is actually pretty good for the most part. Though still not "very good" or "great". As for the final verdict, I give it a 7.5/10 (could have even been 8/10 if it wasn't for E1).

 

And now this might be a hot take, but having recently played vanilla Quake 4 and Doom 3, I actually enjoyed Daikatana more than both of those.

[seed]

38 minutes ago, ReaperAA said:

I also just finished Daikatana

 

Then it's time to celebrate with some music :D :

 

 

Episode 2 and Episode 3 had the best music hands down, but Daikatana's music is consistently solid anyway.

Edited May 26, 2020 by seed

[Boaby Kenobi]

Got back into STALKER - SoC recently and it's still an incredibly atmospheric experience. Visuals are dated of course but the game itself is very immersive and utterly brutal at times.

 

 

[Lila Feuer]

@Boaby Kenobi Visuals may be dated but STALKER has great art direction, which is something that can really help preserve a game for years to come.

[seed]

I don't think it's too dated even visually, the level of detail was quite good for its time and the models/textures weren't of low quality either.

 

And it was a fairly unique game that aged very well, but oh man was it hard... I still can't believe I spent dozens of hours on it... just to literally lose the game at the very end thanks to missing a crucial item, so I could only ever get the false endings. There was no way to go back either since I was so low on resources.

 

That left me with a shit taste in my mouth up to this day for sure. But the game is great otherwise, so I don't hold anything against it.

[Phobus]

I finished The Talos Principle. I think I legitimately earned the "eternity" ending, had to look up a few stars (and the Cobweb puzzle, as I just wasn't getting it, for some reason) for the "transform" ending and had to go to the internet to realise I was an idiot at the very top of the tower for the "transcendence" one. I simply couldn't register that the lift being in my way was something I could solve without being told, for some reason.

 

Gorgeous game and very enjoyable. I can't be bothered to maximise achievements (I did pretty well, anyway) or try multiple outcomes for Milton (deleted that motherfucker), so I've moved on to the Road to Gehenna DLC, which hasn't remotely eased me in.

 

Saying that, the main game took a bit of adjusting to and internet hints before I got into the zone. Then it almost felt intuitive, for the most part, so I'm probably around the minimum level to struggle through. 

[Optimus]

Longtime ago I finished Talos Principle and loved it.

Then I started but didn't finish the DLC, some puzzles are way more brutal (especially the star puzzles). But I will go back to it at some point.

 

Anyway,. the past month I was either playing a bit of SOR4, and then somehow I got addicted to a Doom mod called BorderDoom.

I was planning to play the new Doom Eternal which I got from Steam, but I forgot it because I was playing BorderDoom.

I want to make some time for playing new and old games, but it always comes to going back to what you are familiar (which is Doom for me).

Oh,. and since I bought an Oculus Quest to have me being more active especially in the days of the lockdown, I started playing various games on it too.

[Jello]

I never knew this game existed, but I was talking to a coworker a few days ago, and we were just talking about things we enjoy. Subject of videogames came up, tv shows. I mentioned that I liked Rick and Morty, and he brought up Trover Saves the Universe; a game made by Justin Roiland (and a shitload of other people, obviously. I hate saying he made it, because he probably created the concept, did the writing, all that. A shitload of other people actually made the game). But this has to be one of the funniest videogames I've ever played. The sheer amount of dialogue is incredible.

 

The gameplay is pretty standard platforming, and it's obvious it was designed for VR; but it plays fine with a controller. You play as a Chairopion, who sits in a chair, and controls Trover through the levels. To keep up with him, you have to walk him to teleportation pads, then you warp to them. I think it would be better if you controlled Trover in third person directly, but it's also intended to be played in VR, so what can you do. The gameplay is very standard, not difficult so far.

 

But again, the dialogue is where it's at. You can be given a task, such as pressing a button, and then just sit there and do nothing. And the NPC's will start yelling at you, arguing with you, accepting that you aren't going to press the button. And eventually they'll just ignore you. The part after the first level with the Abstainers was brilliant. They'll go on for five minutes after they give you the quest, going back and forth amongst themselves, while Trover tries to get you to leave. Eventually they just agree to meditate, and they make the most completely obnoxious meditation noises. I'm assuming just to make you get the fuck out. And you have to wait to hear all of it. I've read reviews where people complain about the length, saying it's a four hour game. But I have 3 hours in it, and I've just gotten through the first level, and part of the second.

 

So yeah, great game. But you really need to like Rick and Morty and it's kind of random thought dialogue, and character interactions to enjoy it.

 

Although the coworker who recommended it says he has never watched Rick and Morty or Solar Opposites, and he loved it. So your mileage may vary.

Edited May 29, 2020 by Jello

[Taw Tu'lki]

Undertale

Trying to go to Genocide Route.

[Jello]

1 hour ago, Taw Tu'lki said:

Undertale

Trying to go to Genocide Route.

I did a pacifist run on my first go. I've thought about going back and doing a genocide run, but I don't know if I could stand it. I really started caring about the characters in that game, even though they're just pixels.

[Doom_Dude]

I'm still playing Deus Ex Human Revolution. The weird thing is, I thought on my previous play, that I only played the start of the game and never finished and Steam said I played 10 hours. Now I'm 20+ hours into this play through and I know I played all this previously. It's weird. Maybe I'm losing it. hah. Anyhow, fun game. Don't mind replaying it. Will probably go right into Mankind Divided after this..

[kalaeth]

when I started working from home went back to hearthstone on the cellphone.. It's a nice way to burn 15 minutes off the clock :D

 

[seed]

4 hours ago, Jello said:

I did a pacifist run on my first go. I've thought about going back and doing a genocide run, but I don't know if I could stand it. I really started caring about the characters in that game, even though they're just pixels.

 

Watching John's let's play of it, it is indeed a wholesome game, can't wait to get to it eventually.

 

Considering that the pacifist way is also the canonical ending, I don't expect genocide runs to be as fun. I've been hearing that genocide runs actually feel pretty depressing. Gonna have to watch a vid of that.

[hybridial]

2 hours ago, seed said:

Watching John's let's play of it, it is indeed a wholesome game, can't wait to get to it eventually.

 

I dunno, game always looked overtly saccharine and gimmicky, and well, that's also my view of the games that inspired it so I guess its just not for me really. 

 

I'm currently playing Icewind Dale and learning that a room of archers loaded up the ass with arrows of piercing can fuck off. 

[Jello]

3 hours ago, hybridial said:

 

I dunno, game always looked overtly saccharine and gimmicky, and well, that's also my view of the games that inspired it so I guess its just not for me really. 

 

I'm currently playing Icewind Dale and learning that a room of archers loaded up the ass with arrows of piercing can fuck off. 

I really wasn't sure what to make of it before I played it, because the internet was obsessed with it. But I figured I'd try it, and I found that the characters were extremely well written. Even the enemies; if you do a pacifist run you usually end up having a conversation with them instead of killing them. I found it to be an extremely satisfying game. If you would just play it like a normal RPG where you kill the enemies, I can't imagine it would be that much fun. It would be a piss-poor imitation of an NES or SNES RPG. But if you do a pacifist play, it really shines due to the interactions with the characters. I still love Napstablook.

[seed]

3 hours ago, hybridial said:

I dunno, game always looked overtly saccharine and gimmicky, and well, that's also my view of the games that inspired it so I guess its just not for me really. 

 

I suppose not. I didn't think it's for me at first either, but after watching a let's play of it, pacifist style, I changed my mind and regret purposefully ignoring it for years.

 

Definitely getting it once my financial situation gets a little better (also Kotor 2, as I've been meaning to get that for a while now as well).

[loveless]

started Corpse Party Blood Drive earlier today.  loved the first two on psp, looking forward to this.

[VanaheimRanger]

Found a rad roguelike game called Rad!  It's pretty rad, I guess...

[Taw Tu'lki]

I finished play Dangerous Dave In Haunted Mansion & Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons Episode 2.

[SlayerOGames666]

Just Cause 4, a very good sandbox-ish game i like to play sometimes. Once i made a motorbike spin so fast it went to space.

[hybridial]

I just finished Icewind Dale today, and I basically did all the final content today (because if you want to complete the expansions during the initial campaign you have to beat everything essentially into reverse order. So I conquered the Trials of the Luremaster, defeated Icasaracht the Dragon Matriarch and then finally defeated the demon Belhifet. 

 

Pretty productive afternoon. :p

 

I absolutely adore these infinity engine games, and I find that they really haven't been topped by any recent CRPG releases that I've played. 

[Phobus]

Just finished Need for Speed: Most Wanted (A Criterion Game) - ended up spending about 20 hours on that. It could certainly be quicker, but I also got and beat the Terminal Velocity Pack, which stretched things out a bit. I also made a point of at least getting in every car and finding every billboard, speed camera and Jackspot. Missed a couple of security fences, but they're not shown on the map, so it's difficult to work out where you may have missed one. I'll get back to Perfect Dark on the Xbox 360 in the next few days, as I made some decent progress not too long ago and can see myself getting to the end. I think the dream of beating 100 previously-unbeaten games and DLC is definitely scuppered this year, as I've only beaten 17 so far, and want to revisit a couple of games in the near future as well. Maybe I'll manage about 60 if I ease off on the Dooming significantly over the next 7 months or so and pick shorter ones, or games that came bundled with loads of short DLC.

[Slipgate Tourist]

Replaying the unsurpassed Fallout 1 with this great mod.

 

 

This is a feature I've been dreaming of since 1997 :) 

[Boaby Kenobi]

Finished Death Stranding earlier. 125 hours. I felt it dragged on just a little bit towards the end but overall it was great. Recommended for any PS4 owners. You don't need a PS Plus account to access the online features.

[hybridial]

I'm currently playing Shadow Tactics again in anticipation of probably the biggest release for me this year the way things are going, Desperados 3. 

[snapshot]

EA is beginning to dump their games on Steam, so I picked up ME:C because I'm so unique and unlike the cool kids /s, It.... still requires Origin, but at least I get the benefit of having all my go-to games in one place, Janky combat and lame story aside I love the movement, the music and the aesthetics of the city of glass, never disappoints in this regard, looks like the game also has a small community of people still leaving Beat L.Es and dashes for each other across the city, it's cosy in a way.

[seed]

Just now, sluggard said:

It.... still requires Origin, but at least I get the benefit of having all my go-to games in one place

 

Which makes me wonder what's the point then? I'd rather just get them on their own platform instead.