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Post by erniewhatbert on Feb 11, 2022 15:58:16 GMT
How is XCom 2 on the Switch? Reviews suggest performance issues that interfere with enjoyment, but it's only £3.99 in the sale 🤔 Not bad! There are clearly some technical compromises but it is passable and worth playing, definitely for £4. It didn't give me a sore head like XCOM on PS Vita once did. I had low expectations and they were exceeded. Loading times weren't a problem to me, but I only got to mid-game and haven't gone back (but I really should).
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Kay
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Post by Kay on Feb 11, 2022 17:44:39 GMT
I'm tempted as it does seem like a great bargain, but apparently the loading times are over a minute long? That might be a dealbreaker for me. I'm sure it's a great game and playable enough, but there are plenty of other better optimised strategy games on the Switch (still need to get round to Fire Emblem at some stage).
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cubby
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Post by cubby on Feb 11, 2022 17:47:39 GMT
Yeah Mario vs Rabbids scratches enough of an xcom itch for me, and has no loading issues.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Feb 11, 2022 17:57:42 GMT
I'm tempted as it does seem like a great bargain, but apparently the loading times are over a minute long? That might be a dealbreaker for me. I'm sure it's a great game and playable enough, but there are plenty of other better optimised strategy games on the Switch (still need to get round to Fire Emblem at some stage). If it's anything like on the PS4, the loading times are some of the worst I've ever experienced. I don't know if it was patched, but at the time there were reports that loading times got longer the further you got in the campaign, up to something ridiculous like half an hour
I really enjoyed it but whenever I put the PS4 to play something, I could either load that and wait about 10 minutes to get into a game or just play something else. So I never went back to it
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Post by steifybobbins on Feb 11, 2022 18:39:20 GMT
Maybe I'm just old enough to remember how badly first generation 3D games were... to be acceptable to play a few frame drops here and there. It doesn't really bother me. Oh god the immersion has gone because it doesn't have 60fps HDR+QTBF Same here. I don't notice most of the stuff that really upsets people
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Post by dangerousdave on Feb 11, 2022 19:34:42 GMT
I consider myself quite tolerable of frame rates and resolution. After all it is entirely dependant on art style and the general pace of a game, but it can be jarring going from Forza 5 on the Series X to Dragon Quest 11 on Switch. It takes a little time to look past it.
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Post by Bill in the rain on Feb 12, 2022 1:25:57 GMT
Seriously, the witch has been out for 5 years? WTF. I haven't been following any news. I don't supposed BotW2 is going to have co-op? I'm at the stage in family life where ALL games need co-op. It has been speculated that it might be. Apparently there is a character that looks like Zelda that appears to be controllable in the gameplay trailer (honestly, I couldn't tell myself and just assumed it was Link all the way through). The obvious assumption is that you will switch to controlling her at certain points, but some have hoped it could be hinting at a co-op game. I don't think it is hugely likely though. I wouldn't even need it to be truly polished co-op... just the ability for another player to drop in while you're playing and run around with you.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Feb 12, 2022 7:06:36 GMT
How is XCom 2 on the Switch? Reviews suggest performance issues that interfere with enjoyment, but it's only £3.99 in the sale 🤔 Not bad! There are clearly some technical compromises but it is passable and worth playing, definitely for £4. It didn't give me a sore head like XCOM on PS Vita once did. I had low expectations and they were exceeded. Loading times weren't a problem to me, but I only got to mid-game and haven't gone back (but I really should). Yeah it runs fine. I wouldn't be getting it on Switch if you don't care about it being portable, but that's the same with most Switch games. And that price is an absolute steal, considering how much game you're getting.
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Post by damagedinc on Feb 12, 2022 9:19:19 GMT
For the expansion online pass with N64 etc. Is that only avalible direct through nintendo?
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Post by grandpaulrira on Feb 12, 2022 17:30:05 GMT
Hmm, I might skip XCom 2. Really long loading times put me off. Thanks for the feedback.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Feb 13, 2022 9:44:59 GMT
Just play on Ironman so you don't get tempted to wait for the (re)load times when someone dies.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Feb 17, 2022 0:32:27 GMT
The Triangle Strategy demo is interesting. I like it overall!
It's veeeeeeery FFT in terms of its presentation, and the "dost thou knowest what we should do?" way that people speak. And the battling is similar, albeit with a Bravely Default/Octopath style of saving up action points to do abilities.
Dunno if people can change classes or anything, I assume there will be some flexibility in the full release. And it feels pretty linear - it's mostly cutscene, cutscene, cutscene, exploration, battle, cutscene, repeat - but again it's just a demo.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Feb 17, 2022 1:27:39 GMT
The Triangle Strategy demo is interesting. I like it overall! It's veeeeeeery FFT in terms of its presentation, and the "dost thou knowest what we should do?" way that people speak. And the battling is similar, albeit with a Bravely Default/Octopath style of saving up action points to do abilities. Dunno if people can change classes or anything, I assume there will be some flexibility in the full release. And it feels pretty linear - it's mostly cutscene, cutscene, cutscene, exploration, battle, cutscene, repeat - but again it's just a demo. Still haven't tried the demo. What kind of exploration is there? I thought it'd just be a series of battles on a grid like FFT or TO
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Feb 17, 2022 1:39:32 GMT
The exploration is pretty limited. You just go around a town or area and talk to people, maybe pick up a couple of shinies. I don't think you're going to be spending long on it, but it's a nice change of pace.
There's an interesting bit of non-linearity where you have to make an important decision, and try to convince other members of your group to vote with your decision. I don't know what difference the decision actually makes, but it feels significant.
Anyway, it's a bit of a slow start, but it feels like there will be a lot to unpack once the thing is released.
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Blue_Mike
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Post by Blue_Mike on Feb 20, 2022 14:36:14 GMT
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Post by Aunt Alison on Feb 20, 2022 16:21:37 GMT
The exploration is pretty limited. You just go around a town or area and talk to people, maybe pick up a couple of shinies. I don't think you're going to be spending long on it, but it's a nice change of pace. There's an interesting bit of non-linearity where you have to make an important decision, and try to convince other members of your group to vote with your decision. I don't know what difference the decision actually makes, but it feels significant. Anyway, it's a bit of a slow start, but it feels like there will be a lot to unpack once the thing is released. Played the demo and thought it was great. Gutted when I finished it as it was just starting to open up. Seems like there'll be a decent amount of complexity to the combat
Tempted to go back and try the other route (went to Aesfrost, mainly because Avlora was cool) but think I'll just wait now rather than play the demo to death. Only a couple of weeks!
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Post by Aunt Alison on Feb 20, 2022 19:43:11 GMT
Just started Octopath and love it so far. Chose H'aanit to start with, she seems cool. It's such a lovely art style that feels nostalgic and fancy without just being retro
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Post by JuniorFE on Feb 20, 2022 21:16:03 GMT
Yep. Beautiful art style, great soundtrack and gameplay and surprisingly powerful storytelling (even if it does follow some clichés at times, it's executed well imo). Plus while at the beginning it felt a bit odd that it wasn't fully voiced, it ends up making the scenes that are voiced even more impactful.
My only gripe is with the optional chats between party members. Not the chats themselves, those are pretty nice and add some cute details, the problem is that you need specific party members in the party during specific points in each chapter... and nothing in-game tells you who to have and when. It worked well in the Bravely Default games because you only had one party's worth of characters, but here even following a guide you have to keep swapping people around and there's still one late point where it's impossible to see all available ones unless you save beforehand and reload to change the party. I do understand why you can't just view them afterwards because they'd be out of context, but still...
Still, that and one other thing (which is lategame spoilers so I won't say anything about it) are pretty much the only issues I had with the game (and even then the spoilery one is only borderline). It was a very enjoyable experience overall, hope you like it as well 🙂
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Feb 20, 2022 21:38:25 GMT
Octopath has got some amazing music in it too. Some of the best I've heard in the last decade or so.
And I love the merchant's story.
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Post by dangerousdave on Feb 24, 2022 9:21:32 GMT
I do wish Octopath had been 5 or 6 characters instead. I felt like I had my fill around the 40 hour mark, but pushed on for an extra 40 just to finish everyone's story. It definitely out stayed its welcome.
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Post by Aunt Alison on Feb 24, 2022 9:35:02 GMT
I've got 6 of the characters now and really enjoying it. Only character I'm not too fussed about so far is Alfyn but he's a useful healer. Tried one of the caves with a danger level of 15 and a couple of my characters are level 15 but nearly got wiped out by a skelly! Is the danger level not equal to recommended level? I imagine not having light attacks didn't help (probably the Cleric, who I'll get last by the looks of it)
All the other characters I really like though. Music and visuals in general are marvelous. It's amazing how endearing and expressive little sprites can be. Love getting to the bosses just to see how they look and a couple of them have been a decent challenge
Re: voice work - got them turned off in this like I did in Triangle Strategy. I can just read a lot quicker than I'd have to wait for the dialogue to be spoken and I prefer how characters sound in my head. It just suits this style of RPG
Thinking about picking up Bravely Default with Triangle Strategy now I've caught the JRPG bug a bit (only the old school ones). Does it offer anything different to this? I had a quick look at a video and visually it looks great
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Feb 24, 2022 9:42:14 GMT
Bravely Default is basically a FF3 throwback. The battle system actually has quite a bit in common with Octopath, but there's a lot more character customisation.
I thought it was fine, a solid 8/10 game.
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Post by beastmaster on Feb 24, 2022 10:09:11 GMT
Anyone getting Sol Cresta from Platinum Games?
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Post by JuniorFE on Feb 24, 2022 10:09:31 GMT
As has been said, if you're enjoying Octopath you'll likely enjoy Bravely Default as well, they have a lot in common
...is what I would say, but at least as far as the first Bravely Default goes, there's a specific part that turns a lot of people off at some point (not unjustifiably tbh) that Octopath doesn't have anything like. Unfortunately any further details would again be spoiler territory so I can't elaborate further...
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Post by JuniorFE on Feb 24, 2022 10:10:51 GMT
Oh, and as for Alfyn, well... Anyone who had prior Final Fantasy experience (mostly 5 and 10) should have raised red flags at seeing "Concoct" as an ability name He's not quite at "bend game over knee" level like those games' Chemists could get, but he's a very versatile support (both healing and shield-breaking) and can also deal a lot of damage with the right setup. You do have to farm most of his ingredients but there's plenty of easy strategies for that and when you start tinkering with his mixes chances are you'll glue him to the party as a panic button from then on... that, or bin him entirely for making things just a bit too easy
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Post by Aunt Alison on Feb 24, 2022 10:24:01 GMT
I just meant his story and haircut really. I bet his voice is annoying as well
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Post by JuniorFE on Feb 24, 2022 10:31:47 GMT
Ah, well, can't help you there unfortunately, as I mentioned I really liked the voicework overall. Even H'aanit's "Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe" didn't bother me at all, unlike quite a few rather... vocal fans (putting it kindly), in part because her voice was so appealing to me
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Post by Aunt Alison on Feb 24, 2022 10:34:52 GMT
She did sound decent actually, I think it was the old geezer that put me off. I don't know if her being my first pick affects anything but she's still my favourite so far. The capture ability is cool and only being able to keep a set number at a time stops it turning into Pokemon
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Post by JuniorFE on Feb 24, 2022 10:40:50 GMT
Only thing her being first pick affects is that she'll be locked in your party until you finish her story, so if you want more flexibility you could finish hers before anyone else's
I want to say that the credits will also only roll for finishing her story rather than after every character's final chapter but I'm not 100% sure about that
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Post by Aunt Alison on Feb 24, 2022 10:48:00 GMT
I can live with that. Also forgot to mention she has a snow leopard companion, which are my favouritest aminal and uses a bow, which is also why I like her
It's highly likely I'll put this on hold for a bit once Triangle Strategy comes out but it'll be happily playing it for the next week
Haven't played a TRPG since FE3H and one in the style of FFT/TO is too good to put off. Then Advance Wars next month!
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