Currently Playing

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Wizard Of Odd
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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Wizard Of Odd » Sat Nov 03, 2018 10:14 am

Currently playing:

Hollow Knight (PS4)
Really enjoying this. I'm about 16 hours in, cleared a bunch of areas and bosses, I know it's a long game but I don't even think I'm halfway through yet. Really good stuff, though.

Fear Effect (PS1)
Has been on my pile of shame for almost 20 years. Playing on Vita, the controls are shonky and it's definitely showing its age with various quality of life deficiencies, but still enjoying it.

Salt And Sanctuary (Vita)
I don't own a Switch and got a burning itch to play a Soulslikeroidvania (yep. You can use that one) on handheld so started a NG+ on this. It really is excellent.
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Raid
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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Raid » Sat Nov 03, 2018 12:32 pm

Wizard Of Odd wrote:
Sat Nov 03, 2018 10:14 am
Salt And Sanctuary
I didn't know you'd gone to Blizzcon.

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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Wizard Of Odd » Sat Nov 03, 2018 9:57 pm

If that's a joke it's gone right over my head, haha.

:D
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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Raid » Sat Nov 03, 2018 10:06 pm

Sanctuary is the world in which Diablo is set. Salt is what last night's Diablo announcement created.

It was really, really funny.

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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Wizard Of Odd » Sat Nov 03, 2018 10:50 pm

It actually was a good joke now you've explained it...

:lol:
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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Medicine Man » Sun Nov 04, 2018 1:29 pm

:lol:

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Re: Currently Playing

Post by DjchunKfunK » Mon Nov 12, 2018 9:35 am

Sniper Elite 4

I'm not really a fan of stealth games, they have to be of a certain type in order to hold my interest. For instance I have tried mutliple times to get into the latest Hitman only to give up each time. So I went into Sniper Elite 4 aware that the same may happen here. One mission and two hours later and it was clear that this is the kind of stealth game I can get behind. It has the right balance of sneaking and killing that means I'm not spending too much time just creeping around. The X-Ray stuff is slightly ludicrous but there is great joy to be had from making a long range shot, a shot without any aids that perfectly judges the trajectory, or using the sound of an overhead plane to drown out your shot as you take out a commander whilst he stands on a balcony leaving his colleagues blissfully unaware.

My only real concern is that it could become quite repetitive. I've only done the first mission but it is hard to see how they can change things up from the standard kill targets missions. It may end up being one of those games I return to over the next few months playing the odd burst here and there.

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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Drarok » Mon Nov 12, 2018 1:57 pm

How many dudes have you shot in the junk so far?
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Re: Currently Playing

Post by DjchunKfunK » Mon Nov 12, 2018 2:12 pm

None, you get more xp for headshots. :)

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Re: Currently Playing

Post by eny » Mon Nov 12, 2018 8:17 pm

Testicules give you more XP.....

SE4 is sublimely brilliant....literally played it to death, some missions over and over and over. The DLC is just as good, especially the Fuhrer mission.....so many ways to assasinate him, utterly enjoyable.
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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Sly Boots » Thu Nov 15, 2018 9:51 am

I've been game-hopping like crazy recently. There's been a spate of good discounts on games I've been keeping an eye on for a while, plus a release or two I've been keen to pick up, as well as an old favourite or two I keep returning to.

So, in no particular order:

Megaquarium

I picked this up chiefly as a game I could play with my 7yo, and she's been hugely enjoying our playthrough. In fact, I've been enjoying it a lot as well and for those of you who like management sim type games it's definitely one I would recommend.

It's an odd mix of simple and surprisingly complex. On the finance side there's virtually zero challenge - while money is never abundant because I tend to spend whatever surplus I have on new stuff, I think you would have to really work at it to go broke... if in fact that's even possible. I very briefly saw a minus sign in front of my balance yesterday, chiefly because I went on a massive staff recruitment drive because I can't be bothered to set work zones for people. You want to have a good number of food and beverage machines, and a functioning gift shop, but that's about as far as it goes.

But then, on the creatures side, the simulation is more complex and, although I'm no marine biologist by any stretch, I think much effort has been made to make it realistic. Every fish, big and small has a variety of characteristics - size, diet, water temp, how much tank decoration/flora/shelter they need, whether they need to live with a particular number of the same species, or if they shun other types of fish, if they're a danger to particular types of creature and more besides. This means you have to put in a decent amount of planning for every tank in order to make full use of the capacity, but avoiding little fishy deaths (which negatively affect your reputation, and rep is linked to unlocking higher levels that bring new stuff and animals).

It means that your attention is on designing and building habitats for your livestock rather than financial spreadsheets, and that's fine by me. The graphics are quite cartoony but the fish are adorable. I'm on the last mission of a 10-mission campaign now and working towards unlocking a whale shark for the first time, which daughter is very excited by. I'll probably build one in sandbox mode after as well. It's a nice relaxing experience at the end of a working day.

Dying Light

Have eyed this up for a while after putting it off mainly for reasons of a) price and b) I'm a chicken when it comes to horror games. I've put a few hours in and it seems ok, I was shitting myself a bit when I dithered on one of the early missions that had me scooting back to a safe zone in pitch-blackness, which was interesting. I think it's a pretty long game so not sure if I'll ever complete it (see point b), but may keep putting in the odd hour here and there and eking my way through.

Rebel Galaxy

Only played a couple of hours of this so far. I think I'm still essentially in the tutorial (I've been directed from that first space station towards a nearby planet to find someone else), but I got distracted by a profitable trade run between three planets in quite close proximity... I turned my starting 1k into about 100k and was finding it hard to break away from that cycle :lol:. Is that a lot? I have no idea. It feels like a lot, but I doubt it is really. It seems ok as well... I will say I haven't really gelled yet with the combat, but maybe that grows on you a bit more after a while. I prefer nimbler fighter-style space combat, whereas this is more about turning slow circles to try and fire broadsides at other ships. I will play more though.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm

I loved the first LiS, which I played for the first time a couple of months back. But I'm finding it a bit harder to get into this one... I think it's because although Chloe was my bff in the first game, she's a lot less sympathetic, at least initially, to actually play as. It's a shame also that for obvious reasons she doesn't have a cool superpower like Max had. I will keep playing though.

Battle Brothers

250 hours played and counting. I love this game, keep returning to it over and over just to roam around and take on contracts while building a close-knit team of mercs. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys tactical-style games.

Tower of Time

This was very highly rated on Steam and sounded interesting, and when it hit £11 on Gog recently decided to finally give it a go. It's... ok? So far, anyway, which again is only a few hours in. I think my main problem is the combat. It's sold as tactical battle arenas, the idea being that when you stumble into an enemy or group of enemies you're transported into a separate instance for the ensuing battle. It sounded like a neat idea, but the ones I've fought so far just see waves of enemies beam in from a portal on the right side of the screen, the abilities so far are not interesting and you just click on things until they fall over, at which point another wave beams in until you're done. Maybe it becomes more complex and interesting the further in you get, will find out.

Diablo 3

I'd never played this before, and after it leapt back into my consciousness after the whole BlizzCon furore I looked it up and see I could get the base game for under a tenner. Have only really just started and it seems all right so far. I'm not a big fan of the move and attack with the left mouse button, though, I might check the settings to see if I can move with WASD instead.

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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Snowy » Thu Nov 15, 2018 10:19 am

DjchunKfunK wrote:
Mon Nov 12, 2018 9:35 am
Sniper Elite 4

I'm not really a fan of stealth games, they have to be of a certain type in order to hold my interest. For instance I have tried mutliple times to get into the latest Hitman only to give up each time. So I went into Sniper Elite 4 aware that the same may happen here. One mission and two hours later and it was clear that this is the kind of stealth game I can get behind. It has the right balance of sneaking and killing that means I'm not spending too much time just creeping around. The X-Ray stuff is slightly ludicrous but there is great joy to be had from making a long range shot, a shot without any aids that perfectly judges the trajectory, or using the sound of an overhead plane to drown out your shot as you take out a commander whilst he stands on a balcony leaving his colleagues blissfully unaware.

My only real concern is that it could become quite repetitive. I've only done the first mission but it is hard to see how they can change things up from the standard kill targets missions. It may end up being one of those games I return to over the next few months playing the odd burst here and there.
It is a cracking game, I really like this series. They throw enough curveballs into each mission that each holds it's own in terms of setting and challenges, I think you will really enjoy it.

And - should you wish to play some in co-op, I would love to team up. I have never found anyone else who plays the series, so have never got to try it co-op.
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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Snowy » Thu Nov 15, 2018 10:23 am

Sly Boots wrote:
Thu Nov 15, 2018 9:51 am
Dying Light

Have eyed this up for a while after putting it off mainly for reasons of a) price and b) I'm a chicken when it comes to horror games. I've put a few hours in and it seems ok, I was shitting myself a bit when I dithered on one of the early missions that had me scooting back to a safe zone in pitch-blackness, which was interesting. I think it's a pretty long game so not sure if I'll ever complete it (see point b), but may keep putting in the odd hour here and there and eking my way through.
Dying Light is a brilliant title - and as with my request to DJ above if you want a co-op buddy to team up with just say the word as in co-op the game really shines.

The only thing with it is, it is best in the early stages when you have little gear and being caught by a pack of zoms is really tricky. As you progress and get some of the better custom weapons made up, you become a human blender, ripping through hordes like an avenging angel and one-shotting specials or picking them off from range. The grappling hook you can craft late-game virtually turns you into Spiderman too, which while fun does make traversal very easy.

Be prepared for one of the worst endings to a game ever for the main campaign by the way, but equally don't let that put you off what is a fantastic experience right up to that moment. The ending is a blip on what is otherwise a brilliant title.
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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Raid » Thu Nov 15, 2018 11:45 am

Sly Boots wrote:
Thu Nov 15, 2018 9:51 am
Diablo 3

I'd never played this before, and after it leapt back into my consciousness after the whole BlizzCon furore I looked it up and see I could get the base game for under a tenner. Have only really just started and it seems all right so far. I'm not a big fan of the move and attack with the left mouse button, though, I might check the settings to see if I can move with WASD instead.
I think you hold shift and it'll stop you from moving if you misclick to target something. I remember being a bit disappointed by the inability to control movement any other way when I started playing too (this is some years back, it's possible they've added extra options since), but it soon became second nature and not as awkward as it felt at first.

One thing I would recommend is putting the difficulty up a notch or two. Diablo 3 was painfully easy on my original playthroughs, and this was back before they let you select difficulty modes from the off (you had to play through the entire game several times before it became a challenge, which was stupid).

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Re: Currently Playing

Post by Sly Boots » Thu Nov 15, 2018 11:48 am

Raid wrote:
Thu Nov 15, 2018 11:45 am
Sly Boots wrote:
Thu Nov 15, 2018 9:51 am
Diablo 3

I'd never played this before, and after it leapt back into my consciousness after the whole BlizzCon furore I looked it up and see I could get the base game for under a tenner. Have only really just started and it seems all right so far. I'm not a big fan of the move and attack with the left mouse button, though, I might check the settings to see if I can move with WASD instead.
I think you hold shift and it'll stop you from moving if you misclick to target something. I remember being a bit disappointed by the inability to control movement any other way when I started playing too (this is some years back, it's possible they've added extra options since), but it soon became second nature and not as awkward as it felt at first.

One thing I would recommend is putting the difficulty up a notch or two. Diablo 3 was painfully easy on my original playthroughs, and this was back before they let you select difficulty modes from the off (you had to play through the entire game several times before it became a challenge, which was stupid).
Yeah, I started on normal which was the default, but basically one-shotting everything thus far even in the early game so could be worth bumping it up.

I went with a barbarian character as I figured their playstyle would be the easiest to master as a newb, but which would you say are the most fun classes to play?

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