malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 23, 2024 12:59:41 GMT
Samildanach Fire World is where I basically gave up. Things were getting way too hard and confusing at that point. But I did get a glimpse of the other worlds while descending to the bottom, and I'll tell you, things are going to get even worse.
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Post by Samildanach on Mar 23, 2024 19:16:04 GMT
Samildanach Fire World is where I basically gave up. Things were getting way too hard and confusing at that point. But I did get a glimpse of the other worlds while descending to the bottom, and I'll tell you, things are going to get even worse. Oh blimey. Death often comes rather suddenly in this game, especially with enemies who can hit you with area effects from outside their room through a closed door. Combat has a long way to go before it reaches the quality of the Souls games, but the atmosphere and creepy enemy designs keeps it interesting.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 24, 2024 7:53:02 GMT
Samildanach Fire World is where I basically gave up. Things were getting way too hard and confusing at that point. But I did get a glimpse of the other worlds while descending to the bottom, and I'll tell you, things are going to get even worse. Oh blimey. Death often comes rather suddenly in this game, especially with enemies who can hit you with area effects from outside their room through a closed door. Combat has a long way to go before it reaches the quality of the Souls games, but the atmosphere and creepy enemy designs keeps it interesting. I'll say however, that I was adamant on not using a guide. I think it might be a lot more feasible if you know what to do. The combat is hard for sure, but I was managing somehow. The biggest hurdle was that most of the times I had no freaking idea what I was supposed to do. I did manage to discover and defeat the Earth World boss, but after that, I mostly just tried making my way down, attempting to understand what the game wanted me to do, and failing at that. So that's why I gave up after a while. If you are more willing than me to get some outside info, maybe that will help you keep going.
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apollo
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Post by apollo on Mar 24, 2024 12:07:36 GMT
Got RE6 very cheap, it was one of those "just for you" sales on xbox dash for 99p. Had some credit expiring from MS rewards.
Hated the changes to game back at release, it was really dumbed down but some parts of Leon campaign were ok. Started with Chris' campaign to get it out the way and no one was being harsh on that part of the game. It still feels like they were aiming for the "CoD/Gears frat boy shoota" crowd. Never played Jake's or Ada's story as back in the day played Leon's (which does turn into really dumb micheal bay action) and Chris story made me send the game back to Lovefilm.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 24, 2024 15:23:07 GMT
Been hearing about these "just for you" sales. Do they specifically appear on the dashboard, or in some specific store section? I'd like to see what's on offer for me.
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apollo
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Post by apollo on Mar 24, 2024 15:31:42 GMT
Been hearing about these "just for you" sales. Do they specifically appear on the dashboard, or in some specific store section? I'd like to see what's on offer for me. in the deals section of the xbox store, under special offers.
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Post by Trowel 🏴 on Mar 24, 2024 19:17:39 GMT
There's a game that's lived rent-free in my head for years and years, and I've always wished for a remake. Then the other day I saw someone (on here?) mention replaying it on PCSX2, and given a couple of free hours today I finally got round to setting up on the Steam Deck, and I'm once again having an absolute blast with Black.
My God, the uber destructive gameplay remains great fun, but the star of the show is still the stunning sound stage. Boom indeed.
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Post by dangerousdave on Mar 24, 2024 19:44:02 GMT
That final level of Black with all those little rooms where enemies spawn only when you turn your back to them. Oooph.
Other than that, it was great fun.
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Post by brainbird on Mar 24, 2024 20:33:37 GMT
Black was amazing. One of the few shooters I bothered with a second playthrough. Might fire it up for a third now I think about it.
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Post by dangerousdave on Mar 25, 2024 9:31:15 GMT
I think I am coming up to the end of the second chapter of Dragon Quest XI after 90 hours of gameplay. I'm pretty sure most folk could have the entire game finished in that time, but I'm a sucker for the side quests, the monster logs, the skill trees and the fun-sized forge. It's those things I consider to be the 'meat' of any Dragon Quest game and they take precedence over any narrative. The thing is, I don't think DQ11 handles this stuff as well as DQ9 on the DS. That game really puts all these systems to the forefront. You unlock new recipes by exploring the world (and people's bookcases), but the rewards seem more impactful, which incentivises you to go explore the world for the ingredients you need to make them, which can be done alongside the side quests you've undertaken that involve killing a certain number of enemies, or killing one with a particular move, or tracking down a rare item. These two systems combined make the general RPG grind seem more meaningful and entertaining. You're not levelling up to make the game easier. You're levelling up because you're engaging with these systems. On top of that you get to create you entire party and develop the characters however you see fit. You can learn multiple classes and blend them together to form some amazing combinations like a powerful fist-fighting monk that also happens to be an amazing healer. All these systems play into each other in such a way that you spend a lot of your time experimenting with your party and equipment and it's an enjoyable and immediately rewarding process. You complete quests, you find materials, you forge new powerful items, you battle to experiment with them. You develop your character and learn new skills. You take on more side quests. You find maps to randomly generated dungeons with new loot and materials. It's an infectious loop. And it's technically here in Dragon Quest 11, but its all in the background. It's there to be engaged with, but at some point you have to go back to the story. And technically you do in all Dragon Quest games, but in 9 those stories introduced you to all the new locations. They gave the towns purpose, whereas these systems gave the rest of the world and your party purpose. Dragon Quest 11 just doesn't strike that balance well enough and with the slower traversal things can feel a bit more bloated than they should. It's also a much easier game, so forging new items feels less rewarding and the grind starts to feel more like a grind. Many of the quests are merely fetch quests, which involve going from town to town, rather than out into the world. This should in theory make the game harder as you're not pushed to battle much, but the game is actually easier as you level quite quickly. This is a huge rant for a game I am definitely enjoying. It's still a great game. Narratively speaking its way better than Dragon Quest 9. Sylvando is one of the best RPG characters ever made, but that isn't the 'meat' of the game for me and I have found the loop I loved on the DS is lacking flavour in this one. It's also unnecessarily huge and somehow feels more linear than other DQ games, even though it technically isn't. I think that has more to do with exploring the world twice over, which is a nice twist , but is ultimately a bit of a drag given the run time. Anyways, I might drop it again for a short time at the end of Chapter 2 and focus on something else. I don't regret playing it and I do kinda still love it, but it's made me appreciate the DS game a whole lot more.
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Post by richyroo on Mar 25, 2024 10:04:49 GMT
Dave the Diver
So I took a chance on this one because the reviews have all been really positive and I wanted to play something that wasn't a big AAA blockbuster.
I am about 4-5 hours in so far and can say I am absolutely loving it. There seems to be lots of stuff to explore in the ocean and the game is keeping me engaged by throwing new stuff at me. I am very keen to see where this journey takes me, but so far I wholeheartedly recommend it.
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Post by FlexibleFeline on Mar 25, 2024 10:12:15 GMT
There's a game that's lived rent-free in my head for years and years, and I've always wished for a remake. Then the other day I saw someone (on here?) mention replaying it on PCSX2, and given a couple of free hours today I finally got round to setting up on the Steam Deck, and I'm once again having an absolute blast with Black. My God, the uber destructive gameplay remains great fun, but the star of the show is still the stunning sound stage. Boom indeed. Black was absolutely fantastic. The Burnout of shooters, or whatever the (somewhat dumb) Criterion marketing was at the time. It suffered from being one of those games that came out as the generational transition was happening - got kind of lost in the noise - but I went back it just a year or so ago and it holds up in many ways. Underrated.
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Post by richyroo on Mar 25, 2024 10:28:09 GMT
I think I have Black on my Steam Deck already. One of the games I downloaded when I was setting it all up all those months ago. I've never played it before but may have to give it a try.
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Binky
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Post by Binky on Mar 25, 2024 10:48:22 GMT
Dave the Diver
So I took a chance on this one because the reviews have all been really positive and I wanted to play something that wasn't a big AAA blockbuster.
I am about 4-5 hours in so far and can say I am absolutely loving it. There seems to be lots of stuff to explore in the ocean and the game is keeping me engaged by throwing new stuff at me. I am very keen to see where this journey takes me, but so far I wholeheartedly recommend it.
It's great isn't it! I think I'm about 15 hours in now and it is still opening up!
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Post by richyroo on Mar 25, 2024 15:50:06 GMT
I have heard lots of people say that the game keeps you constantly interested by throwing new things at you, so this is a journey I am going to enjoy for sure.
The only think I don't like is that is seems certain animations and the background scrolling updates at 50fps, which means I get this constant judder when playing on my TV. I've been playing on my Steam Deck so I have reverted to playing it in handheld mode only. You can set the screen refresh to 50fps and everything becomes buttery smooth. Would be nice if they fixed this, but I guess it may be a wider problem of the Unity engine perhaps.
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on Mar 25, 2024 18:29:41 GMT
Still Tainted Grail and I think this will take a while yet. Just tried the so-called "true" boss and almost immediately fell on my face. I misread the description for my second Mastery as I reached Level 20, which didn't help. 75 % less as opposed to 75 % of what I had before was a much worse deal than what I had bargained for. Even so, the Sentinel* was a fun class to try and because of how random the game world and card unlocks are, there is still a lot to be done.
*Usually I don't much like Archers in RPGs, ARPGs and such, but this one was pretty interesting. Essentially a very defensive Archer, whose shots are always accompanied by a Phantom dealing another 50 % of the damage. It's pinpricks, but sustains its defenses very well. Lots of options for buffing up armor and barrier (shields). This is even stronger as the armor damage reduction also applies to the barrier.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 25, 2024 18:34:23 GMT
There's a game that's lived rent-free in my head for years and years, and I've always wished for a remake. Then the other day I saw someone (on here?) mention replaying it on PCSX2, and given a couple of free hours today I finally got round to setting up on the Steam Deck, and I'm once again having an absolute blast with Black. My God, the uber destructive gameplay remains great fun, but the star of the show is still the stunning sound stage. Boom indeed. Black was absolutely fantastic. The Burnout of shooters, or whatever the (somewhat dumb) Criterion marketing was at the time. It suffered from being one of those games that came out as the generational transition was happening - got kind of lost in the noise - but I went back it just a year or so ago and it holds up in many ways. Underrated. I find it a tad too generic. Also that final room can do one. After dying once too many, I just dropped the game at that point, despite being minutes away from the end.
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Post by peacemaker on Mar 25, 2024 22:43:16 GMT
War hammer bolt gun. From a google check I’m one third of the way through. If you like doom 2016 then this is a must buy, especially as it’s about £15 or free on game pass. It has that same frantic keep moving or die vibe of 2016. Cuts back on the fat that they added in eternal. I pretty much just hold run and constantly jump around whilst gunning everything down.
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Post by eleven63 on Mar 25, 2024 22:49:26 GMT
AC Odyssey - 50 odd hours in and at least a 1/3rd of the map I'm yet to visit. There is a LOT to do. So far my character has shagged 3 men and 3 women. The rest of the game is ok.
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Post by JuniorFE on Mar 25, 2024 23:04:37 GMT
dangerousdave I'm someone whose favourite games in the series are 9 and 11, and I rate them equal because they're fundamentally too different to compare in my mind. 11 having a defined set of main characters makes it easier to have a stronger main narrative and party relations alongside the smaller, more contained stories of each town and area, but that also inherently leaves less room for customization compared to 9 and its fully player-made party. It's about which approach each player enjoys most at that point, and for me they're so close that I can't really put one over the other
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Blue_Mike
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Post by Blue_Mike on Mar 26, 2024 1:32:44 GMT
Today in The Old Republic:
My Imperial Agent (and by extension, me) is regretting marrying companion Raina, because in a now somewhat creepy manner she is still addressing him as "Sir" in all dialogue.
Also, it seems to have served no meaningful story purpose. It doesn't provide any kind of alternate dialogue between the two of them, and nobody else on the ship has reacted to it once, not even the other companion who got previously romanced. Already planning on leaving her for Lana Beniko when the Agent reaches Knights Of The Fallen Empire.
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Post by dfunked on Mar 26, 2024 6:25:06 GMT
War hammer bolt gun. From a google check I’m one third of the way through. If you like doom 2016 then this is a must buy, especially as it’s about £15 or free on game pass. It has that same frantic keep moving or die vibe of 2016. Cuts back on the fat that they added in eternal. I pretty much just hold run and constantly jump around whilst gunning everything down. I need to get back to that. It's just pure in the zone shooty fun. Funny you mention run, as that's my main gripe with the game. Really don't like the limited turning circle it gives you when using a controller. The dash move seems a bit useless too (always felt like I missed something and it should work in multiple directions, not just forward)
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Duffman5
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Post by Duffman5 on Mar 26, 2024 7:10:46 GMT
Mains: Mad Max, excellent game and world to be in.
Other: GoT dlc Outerworlds dlc AC BF
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Post by peacemaker on Mar 26, 2024 7:49:15 GMT
War hammer bolt gun. From a google check I’m one third of the way through. If you like doom 2016 then this is a must buy, especially as it’s about £15 or free on game pass. It has that same frantic keep moving or die vibe of 2016. Cuts back on the fat that they added in eternal. I pretty much just hold run and constantly jump around whilst gunning everything down. I need to get back to that. It's just pure in the zone shooty fun. Funny you mention run, as that's my main gripe with the game. Really don't like the limited turning circle it gives you when using a controller. The dash move seems a bit useless too (always felt like I missed something and it should work in multiple directions, not just forward) My kid tried it on controller yesterday and even with sensitivity up to the max it seemed very slow to aim and turn. Lucky for me I’m on mouse so it’s almost like a different game how quickly you can run and gun.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Mar 26, 2024 16:00:57 GMT
I've started Prodeus last night. Seems quite fun so far. Not so sure about having so many weapons that you need to use the Half-Life method of assigning many of them to the same number (PC here), but I guess there's little choice there. My only other gripe is that the map is Daggerfall levels of annoying.
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Post by skalpadda on Mar 27, 2024 16:21:53 GMT
To my own surprise I'm playing X2: The Threat. I played it *a lot* back in the day. I was just going to spend a nostalgic afternoon flying around the universe in the starter ship, but here I am two days later, building power plants, capturing ships and setting up automated traders, saving up for a stylish space corvette.
It certainly feels a bit old - the cutscenes and voice acting are hilariously terrible and a lot of the mechanics are as clunky as ever - but there's still a lot I like buried in the eurojank. It tickles the same feeling I get from playing the Anno games, so I guess German management games are my kind of thing.
Maybe X4 is worth considering. I stayed away from it because the reception it got on release was pretty bad, but after 6 years of patches and expansions it might deserve another look. Pretty sure I have a copy of X3: Terran Conflict somewhere as well. Never got into it, but that was mainly because it ran terribly on my crappy computer at the time.
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deez
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Post by deez on Mar 27, 2024 17:22:18 GMT
I have heard lots of people say that the game keeps you constantly interested by throwing new things at you, so this is a journey I am going to enjoy for sure.
The only think I don't like is that is seems certain animations and the background scrolling updates at 50fps, which means I get this constant judder when playing on my TV. I've been playing on my Steam Deck so I have reverted to playing it in handheld mode only. You can set the screen refresh to 50fps and everything becomes buttery smooth. Would be nice if they fixed this, but I guess it may be a wider problem of the Unity engine perhaps. Yeah when I played via monitor I got the juddering so I played the whole game on my laptop screen which somehow eliminated the problem.
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hicksy
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Post by hicksy on Mar 27, 2024 21:08:06 GMT
One Piece Odyssey (PS5)
Started this to fix a jrpg itch while waiting for the FF7R performance update (which typically dropped 2 days later).
It’s the very definition of comfort gaming. Wanted to play it while the recent tv series was in my mind as I had no other experience with OP. Low difficulty throughout, easy going and fairly fun jaunt across a graphically appealing island settings.
There’s no English dub which I was dubious about but then hearing the excellent cast delivery with subtitles is great fun and can’t imagine they would deliver it in English dub with nearly as much fun without high cringe factor.
Criticisims are that it is quite repetitive and not that adventurous in level design.
Heading for 7/10 territory about a third of the way in and it’s a game I may park a few times to keep it fresh. I picked it up trading in other games so was not expensive.
Bottom line is if you like OP and JRPGs it’s a no brainer but otherwise maybe one for a deep sale before going for it…
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Post by lukasz on Mar 31, 2024 10:08:45 GMT
Far cry 5
Just doing main missions as there is so much content that i believe game will overstay its welcome if I do sidequests.
It's my first far cry game. It's fun but so very repetitive. But I enjoy the setting, shooting crazy religious Americans is so very soothing.
Did enjoy getting in a chopper and hunting boats for a mission. Flying low over the river from one side map to another was fairly entertaining. And hunting animals with powerful chopper's machine gun. It ruins the skin you loot so won't sell for much. But stupid bears deserved it.
I am close to liberating Ivank... I mean Faith's territory. Since I haven't done more than two side quests in this game progress is slow. I understand it will trigger end mission for her when reaching full bar? So might just do a side quest and get her territory free. And get more upgrades locked by offing one of the lieutenants.
Other guys are similar but there is still space for main missions I think.
Unless I misunderstood how progress works in this game.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Mar 31, 2024 10:39:48 GMT
Currently playing two things
Unicorn Overlord (on Switch)
Surprisingly great. The story is a bit boilerplate, but the tactical gameplay is some of the best I've played in years. There's all sorts of tinkering to do with units and skills and equipment, and there's a variation of the FF12 gambit system to optimise them even more.
And it's Vanillaware, so it looks and sounds great too. It also retains their proud tradition of extremely big women as part of the cast, I swear there must be someone in their art team with a fantasy of getting stepped on.
Lunacid (on PC)
A dungeon crawler specifically modelled on old From PS1 games like King's Field. It's very retro and doesn't hold your hand (eg. there's no map, so it's very easy to get lost). But if you like that sort of thing, you will love this.
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