Latest game to hijack your interest?

[Johnny Novgorod]

LittleBigPlanet 2, of all things. I'm having fun drawing my levels on paper and then actually building/publishing them.

 

[hanselthecaretaker]

I just started playing Dark Souls last weekend and while I've only gotten a little ways into it(I killed the Asylum Demon and reached the Firelink Shrine for the first time), I keep thinking about it, waiting for this weekend to come when I can jump back into it.

Surely I'll eat those words after getting brutally murdered 10 bazillion times has crushed my soul.

Also, Hyper Light Drifter, which I'm stuck on and need to finish. Love it but one boss in particular will just not die and it's the only thing keeping me from progressing.

The ironic thing is, it's not uncommon to die in this series far less often than other action/adventure type games like Castlevania, Devil May Cry, God of War, etc. Strictly as an RPG it may be a bit higher, but it's more that the penalty for death is overall much greater. It doesn't dish it out cheaply, and the games do a great job of teaching people to play better, one way or a vast array of others.

 

[happyninja42]

Can I just say Tabletop in general?
I finally found group of people that plays tabletop games and playing D&D and other tabletop games has been a blast, it's super fun I'm always thinking of new weird things, builds or characters to try out and I'm super pumped for my first Numenera campaign tomorrow.

I spend more time reading manuals and planning out characters and strategies that fit my characters and are creative than I do playing videogames, and I love videogames, it's a shame really I was having a blast playing Tales of Symphonia before I started playing tabletop but tabletop is more fun, it just is.

That's because table top games aren't limited by the coding options of video games, and you have the GM right there, to moderate results, and they can allow whatever they want if it improves the game. So you can plumb the depths of your imagination a lot more effectively, which is always rewarding.

 

[Spider RedNight]

Uncharted 4. Don't get me wrong, I knew I would like it, but I started playing it a second time with a friend and you notice so much more of the immaculate polish and attention to detail the second playthrough.

And here I thought I'd be the one starting the Uncharted 4 train. In any case, that's the one for me - I knew I'd enjoy it but I had no idea I'd enjoy it so much.

 

[Politrukk]

it's not even out yet but Total War Warhammer has me so hooked already I'm just watching the streams and vids non-stop

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

No, I'm talking about in Act 1. Athenril gives you a job at the docks. Once completing it, she mentioned that her journal had some extra jobs that you could do for more money, but none ever showed up.

Hm, it's been a while since I played it so I don't recall that. I've been through DAII a good many times, and never noticed a lack of side or misc quests, or particularly wanted more. I think what's there was fine.

I wasn't a fan of the 'oh look! here's an item! now I has misc quest!' design, but that's more an issue with RPG design in general, and I suppose it was a cheap and quick way to add a little extra XP reward, and 'incentive' for keeping a look out for unique loot.

But along with that, to me, Dragon Age 2 dealt a lot with showing how extreme viewpoints push each other to greater extremes. The Qunari had extreme moral viewpoints which often clashed with culture of Kirkwall, and the culture of Kirkwall saw them as invaders, and that was exacerbated by extremists in the Chantry that saw the Qunari as a threat to their religion. The Templars began taking extreme measures to deal with a perceived Blood Mage threat, and many Mages saw Blood Magic as the only solution to deal with the crackdown.

Yeah, I loved that about DAII, and feel it's design like that which makes it one of the smartest RPG's I've played. DA:I represented a bit of a lobotomy in every regard, on that count.

Most perspectives in DAII are quite easy to sympathise with, and I think all sides are challenged but also shown to have some validity. There is no right side, or wrong side, or good or evil. There is complexity and nuance. DAII was the first DA to really dig into the Qun (Mark Of The Assassin is one of my favourite BioWare DLC's), and the conversations with the Arishok are a good example of this nuance; they aren't savage brutes, and they have a point about the almost willful, hapless chaos caused by notions of 'liberty' and agency. I love that you can agree with his/their view of Kirkwall and agency, yet still also affirm that it's something worth fighting for, especially to improve the situation - even if it's doomed to failure.

Okay, Patrice is just a bit of a provocateur... Yet even she has her twisted motivations, and they have been warped by fear. She is just as stubbornly dogmatic as the Arishok.

And obviously the friction between the mages and Templars is well done, too. Freedom is a nice ideal, but what price are a people and society prepared to pay if shit goes wrong, and it invariably always will... A line needs to be drawn, but every group is so invested in their own struggle they fail to see the big picture (DA:I does have some strong scenes about the issue, obviously).

I really enjoyed how down the line you could craft Hawke, too. Generally, my favourite runs have been where she insists on moderation, never showing support for either whilst admonishing both (I think the start of Act III in the square is a good example). Hawke's and the player's choice of trying to moderate - essentially trying to do what's 'right' for all - is reasonable, but so is the response that meets quite understandable, i.e. Anders, Meredith, and Orsino insisting that unless you take a side, someone will force the issue.

While Hawke may not have succumbed to the extremes as much as Anders or Fenris (depending on dialogue choices), her reaction to the initial Templar crackdown was to seek the Deep Roads expedition to, in large part, get her family back to the position they original were. So, in a way, the Templar crackdown made Hawke more determined to seek to reclaim her family's fortune and influence, and it was the expedition that led to the discovery of the Red Lyrium that exacerbated Meredith's extreme viewpoints. (That said, the problem probably would have gone that direction regardless.)

Perhaps that's a stretch, but it was something I thought was interesting.

Did you play as a mage, then? I've never really seen the expedition as having much to do with Kirkwall's conflicts - to me it's just Hawke trying to survive, and given she's the PC of an RPG she obviously proves very capable, and so rises in status. By Act III she's both a potential threat to Meredith and Orsino, and yet they both still try to exploit her, or simply use her as a lighting rod for their own beefs. Take Hawke out of that equation, and I doubt anything would've overly changed.

Plus, if anything it's Hawke's actions at the end of Act II that really put her on the map. Take Hawke out of that equation, and--- well, who knows...

Oh, as for the lyrium idol? Yeah, it becomes rather important by Act III, but I don't think anyone could suggest the chaos wouldn't have occurred regardless; the idol didn't influence the countless blood mages or abusive Templars, f'instance. There's also another possible cause - or serious exacerbating factor - for the bloody history and general turmoil of Kirkwall, which only comes to light if you resolve a certain arc across the three Acts, if I remember correctly.

Well, I'll see how things go then. What I saw, there were some interesting aspects surrounding the Inquisition itself and how it may play out, and some of the mystery drew me in. I just hated the way they started out presenting the protagonist.

Others might disagree, but personally whilst I found DA:I to ultimately be very well done (bar the whole SP MMO design and puddle shallow 'combat'), to me it eschews the--- well, social commentary and scab picking of human nature of DAII, and instead aims for more esoterically fantasical high-fantasy. Its end-game is frankly more abstract and lore focused, whereas DAII and even DA:O were very grounded.

Trespasser ends the story, and if you most wanted discussion and drama over what role the Inquisition should have? Well, that's addressed directly in some good scenes, but those themes only really bookend Trespasser, as it has other fish to fry.

Despite having a very love-hate relationship with it, what kept me coming back (and I'm not done with it by a long shot. I'd like to go through it a few more times) were the characters. I mean... Varric being there doesn't really make any sense, nor does Sera. But DA:I has some of the best character scenes across any BioWare game, I reckon.

I'd highly recommend going through as a female elf, and picking Solas as your LI. I'd say he's one of the finest creations BioWare have come up with, too, and he's a perfect example of just how damn good their casting often is. Gareth David-Lloyd's note-perfect for the role, and whilst Solas is always a fascinating character, the added complexity of a romantic entanglement (only possible with an elf female) just makes it even more satisfying.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Hm, it's been a while since I played it so I don't recall that. I've been through DAII a good many times, and never noticed a lack of side or misc quests, or particularly wanted more. I think what's there was fine.

Yeah, like I said earlier, I couldn't really complain considering the side quests we did get were well-done and played into the overall game well. It was just an observation of where they might have cut some content (and cut well I might add) to meet the rushed deadline.

Did you play as a mage, then? I've never really seen the expedition as having much to do with Kirkwall's conflicts - to me it's just Hawke trying to survive, and given she's the PC of an RPG she obviously proves very capable, and so rises in status.

Yes, it is presented that way as a Mage. Both Carver and Hawke make references to the Templar pressure as a motivation for seeking wealth in the Deep Roads, and Carver brings up that, along with caring for Leandra, Hawke's primary motivation for seeking wealth is to protect herself from the Templars. There is an element of needing to survive, but if I remember correctly, Hawke and Carver both saw that as possible without the Deep Roads expedition. It was just the easiest way for them to get enough wealth to use it minimize the Templar pressure.

I just assumed that, if not playing a Mage, the focus would have been placed on Bethany's well-being instead of Hawke's.

By Act III she's both a potential threat to Meredith and Orsino, and yet they both still try to exploit her, or simply use her as a lighting rod for their own beefs. Take Hawke out of that equation, and I doubt anything would've overly changed.

Plus, if anything it's Hawke's actions at the end of Act II that really put her on the map. Take Hawke out of that equation, and--- well, who knows...

Yeah, it's hard to say. Would Meredith have gone as crazy as she did without Red Lyrium, or was her power-hungry nature and paranoia around Blood Magic all that drove her? Would Anders have been empowered without Hawke, or would he have been even more rash without her, and even then, could Elthina have even kept peace forever without Anders's "attack" on the Chantry?

While I do have my opinions of how Hawke may have been influential, I do agree that there was a lot of ambiguity and that Kirkwall would have likely gone in that direction (though perhaps at a different pace) without her. At the very least, we know that she was our way to see the story of Kirkwall and participate in that story, in however big or small a way it may have been.

I'd highly recommend going through as a female elf, and picking Solas as your LI. I'd say he's one of the finest creations BioWare have come up with, too, and he's a perfect example of just how damn good their casting often is. Gareth David-Lloyd's note-perfect for the role, and whilst Solas is always a fascinating character, the added complexity of a romantic entanglement (only possible with an elf female) just makes it even more satisfying.

I may try it. Honestly, though, I'm thinking more about a human mage romancing Cullen. Along with being a nice throwback to Origin (where he had a crush on my human mage), it seems like it would make a nice character arc for him.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I've tried a couple of the Super Mario RPGs in the past but Dream Team just grabbed me and isn't letting go. I played Superstar Saga, Thousand Year Door and, 7 Star Saga but after a while I put those down and haven't really gone back. Now I'm playing Dream Team though and I'm really, really enjoying it. When I pick up those other M&L games again however far in the future I'll probably be just as engrossed now that I've played enough of Dream Team to find some aspects insufferable.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Yes, it is presented that way as a Mage. Both Carver and Hawke make references to the Templar pressure as a motivation for seeking wealth in the Deep Roads, and Carver brings up that, along with caring for Leandra, Hawke's primary motivation for seeking wealth is to protect herself from the Templars. There is an element of needing to survive, but if I remember correctly, Hawke and Carver both saw that as possible without the Deep Roads expedition. It was just the easiest way for them to get enough wealth to use it minimize the Templar pressure.

Ah, yeah, I vaguely remember now.

That's another thing I really like about DAII; in most RPG's you graft for gold to buy things and improve in terms of game mechanics and stats. but there's little narrative context or texture. In DAII, Hawke needed to provide for her family on a long shot - for most of Act I you're just another refugee in an overcrowded city, trying to look after their family.

I just assumed that, if not playing a Mage, the focus would have been placed on Bethany's well-being instead of Hawke's.

Heh, that's one thing I'm never keen on... I always want Bethany in the game, not Carver, but that obviously denies a mage Hawke selection. DAII was the first RPG I ever played where I actually picked a mage class as 'canon' (I kinda ignore that idea these days. DA's Keep just encourages a multi-verse set of continuities) from the first run, purely because of how much I like the default design for female Hawke, and how great the animations were for spellslinging. Generally, I'm always warriors'n'rogues well before mages, and swords > spells on principle, but DAII made them badass (kinetic, phyiscalised), especially when the Champion armour is worn by default FemHawke.

Would Anders have been empowered without Hawke, or would he have been even more rash without her, and even then, could Elthina have even kept peace forever without Anders's "attack" on the Chantry?

Anders is a tricky one, but nah, Elthina wouldn't have stood a single chance.

She was a good character, too, and still one of the best realised, most interesting examples of Chantry hierarchy. Elthina > DA:I's Giselle, although I could be biasing a lot of that on the latter's all-over-the-place accent...

Did you play DAII with Sebastian, and the DLC's, btw? One DLC has significant relevance to DA:I, and the scenes with Elthina get some extra lines when Sebastian's in the party. Oh, and Tallis from MotA does feature in DA:I - but only if a certain choice is made, and even then we never actually see or hear from her again. I'd really hoped Tallis would've become a main party member in DA:I, but sadly that never panned out.

I may try it. Honestly, though, I'm thinking more about a human mage romancing Cullen. Along with being a nice throwback to Origin (where he had a crush on my human mage), it seems like it would make a nice character arc for him.

Yeah, that's one arc I'd still very much like to see. Well, no, I still want to see all the LI arcs.

The thing with Solas is that his character type is pretty much tailor made for the central story and lore. Given his isolated upbringing and affection for the Fade, he brings a unique angle to the conflict. Interestingly - and this isn't a spoiler, it's just a broad take on how they fit into DA's world - neither he nor Sera feel 'at one' with any of the elves. DA:O and II presented quite clear distinctions in a sense of identity; the Dalish were, for the most part, all about the people and the old ways. The cityborn were often stubbornly proud of their culture.

Yet whilst Sera and Solas tend to clash about pretty much everything, they share common ground with being disinterested in judging Dalish or cityborn as groups or culture. In a way, they're dismissive of both.

The difference is that Solas can remark on the lore of the story better, as he actually has interest in magic, the Fade, and so on. And it's that which makes him a great LI, as it gives a cohesion to themes and arcs that no other LI quite does. Plus, if he's an LI you learn a new twist on elven lore - it's not exactly major at all in the grand scheme of things, but it recontextualises something about the Dalish.

That said, if you're not that interested in elven lore and prefer Ferelden's and wotnot, he wouldn't be that appealing anyway, and nor would his insights.

I suppose it doesn't matter anyway, as none can quite compare to Isabela. ;-)

 

[LetalisK]

List of games I'm bouncing around on:
NBA 2k16
Witcher 1
Legacy of the Void
Stellaris

Stellaris is probably the one that hooked me the most right now, unfortunately. I tend to poor ridiculous amounts of time into 4X/grand strategy games, always chasing the next goal or endstate in my mind, then after 6 hours have gone by in a blink of an eye I realize I haven't actually had any fun. But I keep doing it to chase that dragon.

 

[Bellvedere]

Splatoon for the last 12 months. I tried out Overwatch while it was in beta and it just made me feel like playing more Splatoon.

 

[Zipa]

Stellaris, its one of those games where you realize that you can lose hours of time into easily.

 

[MysticSlayer]

Heh, that's one thing I'm never keen on... I always want Bethany in the game, not Carver, but that obviously denies a mage Hawke selection.

Yeah, for what little I saw of Bethany, she definitely seemed like a more enjoyable character to have around than Carver. She was instantly likable, which of course helped make her death seem meaningful.

The thing about Carver, though, is that while he was the instantly unlikable character, he did start to show some positive elements as time went on. Not having to hear his constant whining certainly helped, but knowing that he didn't let his jealousy get the better of him and seeing his willingness to side with family rather than Templar duty certainly made him a little more sympathetic.

Did you play DAII with Sebastian, and the DLC's, btw? One DLC has significant relevance to DA:I, and the scenes with Elthina get some extra lines when Sebastian's in the party. Oh, and Tallis from MotA does feature in DA:I - but only if a certain choice is made, and even then we never actually see or hear from her again. I'd really hoped Tallis would've become a main party member in DA:I, but sadly that never panned out.

No, I was actually thinking of skipping the game and just moving to Inquisition, so I just went with the base game and no DLC in case it wasn't worth the money. By the time it was clear I would be invested for the whole thing, I sort of forgot about DLC. I didn't really read about Sebastian until I was nearing Act 3, and by then it felt too late to introduce another party member, especially one that seemed as story-important as he did.

I'll definitely replay the game to see the DLC sooner or later. DA2 is definitely one game I wouldn't mind getting the DLC for.

 

[ThereIsNoSanta]

Ori and the Blind Forest. I'm a sucker for pretty stuff.

And good god this music is great for working to.

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

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

Two at the same time, actually.

The first one, oddly enough, was Dark Souls 2. I was one of those people who cursed almost all the changes, the asinine level layout and bonfire frequency, and never actually ended up finishing it. When DS3 was imminent I decided that it was about time that I finish this game and play the DLCs meshed into SotFS. Well, it managed to get its hooks into me. I haven't changed my mind about the design decisions that (for me) place it on a lower rung than DeS, DkS1 or Bloodborne, but Dark Souls 2 is still an engrossing action-RPG that captures enough of the exploration, combat, and character growth to place it much higher than most RPGs that have released in the last few years. I totally understand why it gets a bad rap, but if it had any other name it would still kick the snot out of something like Lords of the Fallen.

Second one is Doom. I didn't have enough money to get the PC version, so I decided to give my brother's PS4 version a shot, expecting it to control quite like ass and lack that crucial speed and framerate. Nope. This game stands above Serious Sam 3, Shadow Warrior, and even the new Wolfenstein as an amazing old-school shooter with just enough modern sensibilities to make it feel trendsetting as opposed to basked in nostalgia. Large, open-ended levels with tons of (quite hard to find) secrets and fast, visceral and metal as balls shooting combat.

I was equally surprised that the PS4 version hits 60 fps at virtually all times, while still looking absolutely gorgeous. The growing pains of idTech 5 have been passed; textures don't pop-in normal maps all over the place a la Rage and even the console versions use a fantastic AA solution that handles jaggies without blurring everything. I was definitely surprised that even on PS4 I was able to change the motion blur intensity as well as the FoV. I'm hoping this is a trendsetter as console gamers can certainly be trusted to know what settings they want and there's no reason not to see more of this in the future. Multiplayer is a hobbled Quake 3 Arena with no bunnyhop and modern loadout/XP systems, but I'm excited to see what people do with SnapMap. The game itself surprised me (no early critic copies was a big red flag, as well as the multiplayer beta), and the port surprised the hell out of me. I'll still pick it up for PC to experience ultra over medium graphics and aim with the mouse, but the PS4 version is serving me just fine in the meantime.

It's been a nice balance. When DS2's DLC decides it's totally trolling me with some of the encounters and I get frustrated, I switch over to Doom for a pleasant balance of letting out my tension with a super shotgun and calmly scanning the map for upgrades and secrets. Hopefully by the time they're both finished, From will have its shit together and stop banning people for getting invaded by cheaters and not banning the cheaters in DS3, as well as bringing some patches to help the frame-pacing and hitches. I'm astonished that I wish I saved the DS3 money to get Doom instead while From sorts its shit out, definitely the last time that blind fanboyism makes a purchasing decision for me. /somewhat unrelated rant

 

[The Enquirer]

I've usually got a handle on whether or not I'd like a game, so it's rare for me to be taken back by how much I enjoyed something. I suppose Wolfenstein: The New Order fit that bill though. I was very surprised by how much I liked the story.

I also hadn't expected, and this is going way back, to like Deus Ex: Human Revolution as much as I had and still do. Every year or two I replay it actually. The level design is I think what keeps me coming back.

 

[Vigormortis]

The growing pains of idTech 5 have been passed

Perhaps, or perhaps not. Hard to say since DOOM runs on idTech 6.

<.<

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

The growing pains of idTech 5 have been passed

Perhaps, or perhaps not. Hard to say since DOOM runs on idTech 6.

<.<

I'm assuming you know what I meant. iDTech 6 is obviously built upon the groundwork laid by 5, with megatexturing and built-in optimization for parity across PCs and consoles, with many rendering techniques that weren't possible with 5. 5 was the growing pains, and the combination of Carmack's coding legacy and groundwork with the fellow genius minds at id and former Crytek minds has finally bore the fruit with Doom from the seeds laid by Rage. Id tech 6 is now an engine worth licensing, especially for developers who wish to utilize the unique poor-CPU/better GPU architecture of consoles while taking advantage of the extra power of PCs.

It almost makes me wish that Bethesda would retroactively re-do Wolfenstein and The Evil Within in 6 (and give Tango some fucking English documentation and training this time around), because I've always loved the kind of environments that the texturing process allowed the artists to achieve while accepting the jank that came with using 5. I hope Dishonored 2 uses it or a fork of it, as well as the next Wolfenstein (they will make another one, right? Please?). I'm also very glad that Bethesda (whether they realize the difference or what it means) let the tech continue to be based on an open API, and Doom should end up being the primary benchmark for Vulkan and SteamOS/Linux gaming on the highest graphical levels.

Again, you probably knew what I meant. Or not. At least I got to nerd out about it regardless.

 

[Vigormortis]

I'm assuming you know what I meant.

Probably, but I couldn't miss the opportunity to be a smartass.

It almost makes me wish that Bethesda would retroactively re-do Wolfenstein and The Evil Within in 6 (and give Tango some fucking English documentation and training this time around), because I've always loved the kind of environments that the texturing process allowed the artists to achieve while accepting the jank that came with using 5. I hope Dishonored 2 uses it or a fork of it, as well as the next Wolfenstein (they will make another one, right? Please?). I'm also very glad that Bethesda (whether they realize the difference or what it means) let the tech continue to be based on an open API, and Doom should end up being the primary benchmark for Vulkan and SteamOS/Linux gaming on the highest graphical levels.

I would prefer Bethesda just abandon the abysmal Gamebryo engine in favor of something like idTech 6, Source 2, Unreal 5, or even Unity 5.

Gamebryo needs to go away. Desperately.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

I would prefer Bethesda just abandon the abysmal Gamebryo engine in favor of something like idTech 6, Source 2, Unreal 5, or even Unity 5.

Gamebryo needs to go away. Desperately.

You'll hear no dissent from me. I knew in my heart that Fallout 4 would simply take the advancements from Skyrim and dump the Fallout art and weapon kit all over it, but I still hoped that it would show Bethesda's next technology for creating the open worlds that made them famous, not a continued refinement of the very technology that did the same. The animations are so robotic, the "God Rays" were one of only a few advancements that made one pretend that it could trade blows graphically with a Witcher 3, Far Cry, or even an Assassin's Creed, and the level of jank that permeates everything really should be unacceptable.

With the massive reduction in RPG elements, F4 really does end up competing with something like Far Cry, and it's unbelievably obvious that the technology limits every possible thing the game attempts. Granted, it's probably the reason that modding is so simple in these games (as well as their modular file structure and code design, but I'm not a modder), but at this point it isn't enough to keep the old dog around. I imagine that if any game released with Gambryo not named ES/Fallout and not released by Bethesda, it wouldn't receive the excuses and "slides" that FO4 got, it wouldn't be enough that "the community will come together and make it great, even on Xbox one", and it would only be considered a notch above such fare as Two Worlds 2 or Bound By Flame. I don't know why I have an extended diatribe for every offhand comment here, but I'm enjoying it.