What are you playing?

[MMaRsu]

How far into the story are you?

[Raist]

Can't be that far if he just cleared the first cauldron.

[FStop7]

Not far at all.  The story isn't bad, it's just not that compelling to me.  It's like something out of a YA novel. 

That combat vs. big robos, though.   

I know as you progress you can get some items that make fighting the larger monsters very easy but I don't think I'm going to use them.

[Raist]

It's a bit like that at the beginning of the game, yeah. Then it becomes more about the world than about Aloy herself.

[FatalT]

Played through Beyond: Two Souls in duo mode with the girlfriend and woof, what a hard-hitting game. Definitely enjoyed it though. Detroit: Become Human is supposed to come out this year isn't it?

[archnemesis]

Played through Beyond: Two Souls in duo mode with the girlfriend and woof, what a hard-hitting game. Definitely enjoyed it though. Detroit: Become Human is supposed to come out this year isn't it?

Detroit hasn't been confirmed for 2017 yet, but it's definitely possible. We'll know after E3.

All of Quantic Dream's games are well worth playing, even though they all have their issues.

[D3RANG3D]

Shadowman

Put this on hold got to about as far as I ever gotten in it, but dat S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has been occupying my time.

[Mr. Nobody]

Finished Horizon: Zero Dawn last night. Great game.

[Positive Touch]

good news guys dragon Quest builders is really fun and awesome

[demi]

Its like $30 now I will get it soon

[Purple Filth]

Might just use some time and get through The Order 1886.

Lets see if its even worth 5 bucks

[Bebpo]

Think I'm at the endgame in Gravity Rush 1.  Played a lot tonight.  Was tough finding a spot to put the game down for a bunch of hours.  GR is a lot different type of game than I thought it would be, especially being a Vita launch title.  I expected a small scale open world gravity game go around do errands, basically what's in the first couple of hours x repeat for each city, 4-5 hour game, whatever.

But it's like this full Team Ico x Ghibli-esque adventure story.  Plot's been interesting in the 2nd half, art & music are great.  Gameplay is the weakest part.  It's ok but there's no way you can make this game with great controls/camera; it just won't work.  Feels PS2 jank-ish in the gameplay a bit.

Looking forward to checking out some GR2 footage after I finish GR1.  Will be interesting to see how the cities look on PS4 hardware and half the framerate.

[tiesto]

Got endings A-E in Automata, now on to getting all the joke endings, finishing the remaining quests (fuck you speed star quest!) and cleaning up the collectathon stuff (weapons, archives, pod programs, etc). An absolutely brilliant game.

[Bebpo]

Just went through all the challenges in Gravity Rush 1 before I tackle the final missions.  At first I wasn't big on the gameplay and was more into the art/music/story/collect-a-thon.  But by the end I've gotten pretty good at the game and the race challenges are all fun stuff (combat challenges are too easy though and go on forever unless I stop).  Gameplay in GR reminds me a bit of Gunvalkyrie-ish curve, but not as tight and nowhere near as difficult.  Still it's the kinda of curve where when the gameplay clicks it's a fast and fun.  Also helps that by the end when you've basically maxed out your character you can fly around close to forever without landing which is much more enjoyable than early on where you have to keep landing to refill your gauge.

[demi]

I think Gravity Rush is much more playable on Vita. I played Gravity Rush 2, and just couldn't stomach the controls and camera. Didn't help that it felt like nothing was changed at all for gameplay. Might as well had been DLC.

[MMaRsu]

Dlc for a dead system

 

[tiesto]

I didn't like GR2 as much as the first game - played pretty far then stopped due to Nier, but planning on going back once I beat Nier and Persona.

I didn't find the main city (the south asian style city) to be as interesting as Hecksville, and navigation wasn't as intuitive. The islands were too spread out and having to go up or down to go to the different areas was also annoying.

The sidequests seem to stretch on for much longer than need be, and the ones where you have to 'ask' people for objectives are lame. Stealth missions are even worse.

The leveling up system doesn't give you the sense of accomplishment the first one did, either.

Still a fun game but a bit too much filler compared to the first one.

[Bebpo]

Wellll, the cities are pretty useless in GR1 because you just fly around them and not really go into/through them much outside races where you just follow the point markers.  Only a few missions actually use set pieces (usually for bad stealth).  All GR2 has to do is make the cities look prettier basically and I'll be happy.  They're basically big polygon objects in your flying/collecting way and that's it.

The only sidequests in GR1 were the DLC sidequests and the few I've done have been pretty bad, so if GR2 are anything like them...yeah, I'll skip those like I'm skipping these DLC sidequests in GR1 and just do the race challenges and main missions.

But yes, the impressions I've heard of GR2 is they made the game bigger and longer but padded it with filler to achieve that so it's not as good.  And that the gameplay is basically the same.  How is the story though?  I think outside the fantastic graphic art design of the chapter titles and comic panel cutscenes, the story is the best part of GR1.  It's an neat adventure and I'm actually interested in seeing where it goes.

That being said, considering GR2 is more of the same, I won't be playing it for some time after just popping it in and checking it out.  Don't want to get burnt out coming from GR1.

[Bebpo]

posted this on gaf, so there's some repetition with previous thoughts.

Beat Gravity Rush 1.  Turns out I only had like 30 mins left because I thought there were a few hours left.

So story:

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Anyhow, the story was fun, liked the writing and the characters. Then mystery door and god man and hey this kinda interesting, then you head down the tree and woah, suddenly this is a very cool Team Ico adventure! Lost tribe and world of dreams, a city in the sky where Kat's a queen, the mysterious origin of the Nevi and how they connect to crazy universe cat and everything. The world outside time, etc.. etc...

Plot was real interesting! All these mysteries coming together, leading up to the ending. Then get back to the city and oh hey military demonstration, giant ball goes crazy, short boss fight...THE END.

What the fuck! The plot feels like you're 2-3 chapters from the ending that explains everything and but it just ends abruptly and absolutely zip is explained in the entire game.

Like I'm glad they got to make a sequel, because otherwise leaving it as a 1 game franchise with that ending is just bullshit!

So uh, before I jump into GR2, does GR2 finish the plot? Or is it like the middle game in a trilogy that explains a little more but raises more mysteries and nothing is resolved? Because screw the gameplay, main reason I want to play GR2 now is I want a damn ending.

[close]

[Bebpo]

Oh maaaaaaaaaaaaan, I started Gravity Rush 2 and this is SO COOL. 

I think the reason GR1's story and storytelling clicked with me a ton is it reminds me the most of Takahashi and Xeno~ storytelling and world building full of interesting mysteries and wanting to see how it all connects.  Wasn't going to play GR2 any time soon, but arghhhh I don't know if I'll be able to not go directly into and through GR2.  New location!  MYSTERIOUS.  I like these characters and want to see where it goes.

[bork]

Did anyone try out Drawn To Death on PS4?  It's free for Plus users this month.

Pretty cool visual style and presentation, but I'm not sure about the game play.  It felt like a standard third-person deathmatch game, but with only four players on the map, it seemed kind of empty. 

[chronovore]

Saw a GTA clone on iOS, GANGSTAR: New Orleans. It started out pretty smooth. It feels like a GTA III-era game in terms of graphics, tone, and style. Hey, they also have their own fake pop bands on the radio, just like R* did in III. The camera controls are the main problem at the outset, but an hour or so in the multiple, poorly-explained currencies become needed, and then I realize it's built on the standard F2P assumption that grinding will be your life.

Then I realized I've got GTA III and Chinatown Wars on my iPad, and decided I should actually play them instead.

[Syph]

Did anyone try out Drawn To Death on PS4?  It's free for Plus users this month.

Pretty cool visual style and presentation, but I'm not sure about the game play.  It felt like a standard third-person deathmatch game, but with only four players on the map, it seemed kind of empty.

I was really hyped to play it
Definitely enjoying it so far, and I love the art style and commentary, but have to agree on the emptiness. Was quite surprised to find out it was only 2v2. I feel like they could get away with at least 3v3

[tiesto]

Beat the secret boss in Nier Automata, did all the quests except the 95% unit data one, just have a few more joke endings to get till I'll consider myself done... but I'm gonna take a break from it for a bit to try out some Persona 5.

[a slime appears]

Didn't want to shit up the Persona 5 thread but I've put in just over an hour so far and I'm pretty bored by it.

Obviously I can't judge it based off that but I've been supremely underwhelmed by the game on just about all fronts. I'll jump back in and play a lot more to give it a fair shot.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Have the translations for Persona always been done by amateurs? This is pretty bad.

[close]

[archnemesis]

I'm also in the very beginning of Persona 5 and so far I really enjoy everything about it. What are your issues with the translation?

[fistfulofmetal]

The translations are SUPER clunky. I'm about 4 hours in and they get better as it goes. But early on there's a lot of lines of dialogue and text that just sound like literal Japanese>English translations and sound unnatural.

Like the "Please take care of me." when you first meet your guardian.

[Joe Molotov]

Like the "Please take care of me." when you first meet your guardian.

That's a line in like every high school anime ever. If you guys were more fluent in weeblish, you wouldn't be having a problem desu.

[Great Rumbler]

Didn't want to shit up the Persona 5 thread but I've put in just over an hour so far and I'm pretty bored by it.

Can't remember if you mentioned it here or not, but have you played P3 and P4? Anyway, it does take quite a while before the game really gets going [took me about 5-6 hours before it finally opened up and let me start doing what I wanted]. I'd say to at least stick with it through the first dungeon and see how you feel about it after that.

[etiolate]

Cleared Grim Dawn on Elite. Cleared Crucible 150 with friends on two difficulties. Crucible is good for "I just want to finish this character" sort of thing.

Started playing Osiris New Dawn. I enjoy it so far, but I am bumping up against the edge of what there is to do in the game at this point. Granted, this is 20+ hours in at this point. There are various bugs I've run into, but mostly in the online public servers for some reason. Haven't really experienced the multiplayer aspect yet. Like Astroneer, no real community for it yet.

[tiesto]

Finally started playing P5. It's everything I hoped it would be so far. Turn based RPGs 4eva bitches

[Rufus]

Played through Legend of Zelda. Still a fun game, but the dungeons became really difficult to clear because of certain bloodlocked rooms filled with blue knights and later blue wizards. The controls (4-way movement), combined with Link stabbing rather than swinging his sword (as he would in Lttp) made those especially frustrating. Thank you, save states.

Also, I would have been completely screwed without a map. Even then I fucked up on my first attempt at the last dungeon. Got all the way to Ganon before I found the silver arrows. Woops.

[MMaRsu]

The translations are SUPER clunky. I'm about 4 hours in and they get better as it goes. But early on there's a lot of lines of dialogue and text that just sound like literal Japanese>English translations and sound unnatural.

Like the "Please take care of me." when you first meet your guardian.

But its a joke? I dont understand the complaints. Then again Im not a native English speaker but it seems good to me...

[chronovore]

Went back to Watch Dogs 2, am liking it a HEAP FUCK TON, finally starting to accept the game for what it is – and what it is is a very kind love letter to Bay Area culture. Had a rough re-entry when a co-op player happened to drop in and invited me to team up for Co-Op Missions. Everything was good until I realized I had no idea how to bring up the weapon selection wheel, so my only weapon was an non-silenced shotgun: noisy, with shitty range. I'm busy trying to figure out how to change a weapon, accidentally throwing IEDs during the mission.

Worst. Partner. Ever.

Also tried to get an external USB HDD connected to my PS4 but it turns out my cheap-ass old HDDs are all USB 2.0

[Positive Touch]

finishing up chapter 3 out of 4 in dragon Quest builders and the game is still fun but I'm getting a little burnt out. overall it's a great game though; it's basically an arpg with base building and a destructible environment. there's a lot of little extras that keep you experimenting to find every room combination (the game labels a room if you put certain types of furniture in it) and recipe. there are also optional quests and objectives in each chapter, and secret areas and bosses in each island. there's a ton of content in the game, and i haven't even tried out the free building portion that includes unique islands, recipes, and features like online sharing and a battle arena.

the biggest problem I have with the game is that it can start to feel real tedious because of shitty combat or item hunts. the combat is as simple as it gets, with an attack button and a jump button. it gets boring as hell when you fight a bunch of high hp enemies, especially since the hit detection sucks and you'll keep running into enemies. and sometimes you'll need a regular ingredient that's kinda rare, but you don't remember where you last saw it so you have to run around every available island til you find it. this is especially boring because each island only has one "entry" point so you'll be covering the same ground every time you go there.

still, despite those minor flaws it's a really addicting and fun game. here's hoping the inevitable sequel ads in some quality of life changes.

[chronovore]

Went back to Watch Dogs 2, am liking it a HEAP FUCK TON, finally starting to accept the game for what it is – and what it is is a very kind love letter to Bay Area culture. Had a rough re-entry when a co-op player happened to drop in and invited me to team up for Co-Op Missions. Everything was good until I realized I had no idea how to bring up the weapon selection wheel, so my only weapon was an non-silenced shotgun: noisy, with shitty range. I'm busy trying to figure out how to change a weapon, accidentally throwing IEDs during the mission.

Worst. Partner. Ever.

Also tried to get an external USB HDD connected to my PS4 but it turns out my cheap-ass old HDDs are all USB 2.0

Got a new USB 3.0 HDD attached, installed some more PS Plus games I'd had to clear off earlier. YAY~! Going to move my digital purchases over there.

More WD2. Was enjoying a great session, repeatedly trying to get the Research Points under the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. It's guarded by Sons of Ragnarok, which seem to respawn pretty quickly. I knew how to do it with the RC Jumper, but was trying to do it directly. Oddly enough, when infiltrating the SoR's restricted area and being found out, cops show up and took the bikers' side, hunting me down.

I can't seem to get the timing down for the QTE-like "push SQUARE now" hacks when in a car chase. It has that high-pitched squeal and I mash SQUARE when it says, but there's no evidence that it's working.

Hacking-while-driving with normal "L1+face button" works like a charm. An online player invaded and hacked me, and when they tried to get away, I hacked their car to drive into a wall, and then stop.

Epic game. Too bad it didn't sell very well. I'd love to see a WD3 in NYC or Tokyo.

[Positive Touch]

so to set up a new hard drive, do you just plug it in to one of the ps4's usb slots and you're good to go?

[chronovore]

so to set up a new hard drive, do you just plug it in to one of the ps4's usb slots and you're good to go?

Yeah. Sadly, the PS4 has no rear USB ports, so I look like a dweeb compared to people who've done the 2TB internal HDD swap.

The drive has to be USB 3.0, 2~8GB, and will lose all data previously stored on it.

Looks like content can't be moved, but you can delete and re-download to it. :shrug

[Positive Touch]

hrm... i might try to swap the internal drive then. my entertainment center already looks like a mess as is, plus I'd lose the ability to charge my controller while using a keyboard in ffxiv.

[chronovore]

hrm... i might try to swap the internal drive then. my entertainment center already looks like a mess as is, plus I'd lose the ability to charge my controller while using a keyboard in ffxiv.

My BIL did the internal HDD swap, pulled it off without a hitch. 2TB internal, he's as happy as a clam.

I thought I was taking the easier route, but after fuXX0ring with an old USB drive for a couple hours, only to learn that it's USB 2.0 and ineligible, I wish I'd spent the time on the internal upgrade route.

[demi]

Yooka Laylee - this is pretty much Banjo Threeie. I'm ok with this

[chronovore]

Yooka Laylee - this is pretty much Banjo Threeie. I'm ok with this

If it's a continuation, I don't see how it can be rightfully bashed in reviews. They've been harsh.

[a slime appears]

I've seen more than a few reviews complain about the collecting. I mean HELLO, were any of these guys paying attention when playing these games back on the N64?

[chronovore]

I've seen more than a few reviews complain about the collecting. I mean HELLO, were any of these guys paying attention when playing these games back on the N64?

Yeah, it's one of the reasons I didn't back the project. I remember the previous games; I loved Nuts and Bolts, but that was a unique beast. The others were maddening collectathons.

[demi]

That's why I dont play open world games these days. They are maddening collectathons

[Positive Touch]

That's why I dont play open world games these days. They are maddening collectathons

:| at least devs nowadays have to decency to put gameplay in their games and make the collectathon a boring extra for freaks

[chronovore]

That's why I dont play open world games these days. They are maddening collectathons

:| at least devs nowadays have to decency to put gameplay in their games and make the collectathon a boring extra for freaks

Agreed. Watch_Dogs 1 & 2 have plenty to collect, but they show me where the items are. I just have to figure out the path to them. Banjo Kazooie, when I played it, was either as boring as getting every stalk of wheat in a field, or as maddening as having a few items out of reach that I'd have to remember and come back for, later.

The first Assassins Creed broke me of my need to get all the items in a list; for the life of me, after three hours of following YouTube guides and looking in every corner, I could not find Masyaf's final flag. After that, I determined that my OCD (well, tendencies, not disorder) would not dictate my gaming. In a way, it was a good lesson to learn.

[zomgee]

If you would indulge me to post some pictures, I am mostly done with my Simpsons pin. I didn't have to do much, mostly had to resolder some connections and do a diode replacement. It needed a really good cleaning, and could still use some more. New rubbers and yellow plastic posts, a new "El Barto" plastic, and new balls. I replaced the pricing card with a custom card. I replaced most playfield lights with LEDs and I am halfway done with the backbox. GI lights are still incandescent and I'm still making my mind up about those. I want to do some acrylic playfield touch-ups (you'll probably see some wear areas I need to hit) and maybe get some mylars or varathane. I also have found a source that will powder coat the metal ramps for about sixty bucks. I have a battery eliminator/NVRAM chip on order to avoid potential battery corrosion.

I took the pictures with the glass on for some reason, but you'll get the idea.























A couple interesting facts about the machine - it was produced at the same time as the first season, so the many of the characters on the playfield are minor characters in the show's canon. Princess Kashmir for example is a callout and a ball lock - who is she today on that show?  Bleeding Gums Murphy is a slingshot on the playfield and a prominent character on the backglass. He's been dead since season 6. Sideshow Bob is still Krusty's sidekick on the playfield. The playfield and backglass were drawn by the original animators, and that's why they are so well on-model.

Also, Black Smithers.



If you look around the Internet you'll find a rulesheet for the game written in February 1991 by a young college student who was attending (and failing from) the Ohio State University. This particular machine was built December 13, 1990. I would consider it a unicorn for the mere fact that it was an eBay purchase and was on location for quite a few years before it went into a person's home. I paid low retail but I would challenge someone to find one in as good as shape as this for that price.

[Joe Molotov]

Congrats on the newest addition to your household. 

[zomgee]

Free play for boreans

[Positive Touch]

that is inspiring

[Stoney Mason]

That's why I dont play open world games these days. They are maddening collectathons

:| at least devs nowadays have to decency to put gameplay in their games and make the collectathon a boring extra for freaks

Agreed. Watch_Dogs 1 & 2 have plenty to collect, but they show me where the items are. I just have to figure out the path to them. Banjo Kazooie, when I played it, was either as boring as getting every stalk of wheat in a field, or as maddening as having a few items out of reach that I'd have to remember and come back for, later.

The first Assassins Creed broke me of my need to get all the items in a list; for the life of me, after three hours of following YouTube guides and looking in every corner, I could not find Masyaf's final flag. After that, I determined that my OCD (well, tendencies, not disorder) would not dictate my gaming. In a way, it was a good lesson to learn.

As a diehard Mario 64 fan who felt that game defined what 3d gameplay meant, I was always a snob about Banjo-Kazooie from a design perspective. It takes all the wrong lessons from Mario 64.

[Great Rumbler]

That's why I dont play open world games these days. They are maddening collectathons

:| at least devs nowadays have to decency to put gameplay in their games and make the collectathon a boring extra for freaks

Agreed. Watch_Dogs 1 & 2 have plenty to collect, but they show me where the items are. I just have to figure out the path to them. Banjo Kazooie, when I played it, was either as boring as getting every stalk of wheat in a field, or as maddening as having a few items out of reach that I'd have to remember and come back for, later.

The first Assassins Creed broke me of my need to get all the items in a list; for the life of me, after three hours of following YouTube guides and looking in every corner, I could not find Masyaf's final flag. After that, I determined that my OCD (well, tendencies, not disorder) would not dictate my gaming. In a way, it was a good lesson to learn.

As a diehard Mario 64 fan who felt that game defined what 3d gameplay meant, I was always a snob about Banjo-Kazooie from a design perspective. It takes all the wrong lessons from Mario 64.

But I think we can all agree that Donkey Kong 64 was the nadir of the genre.

[Raist]

Free play for boreans

Get Roadshow kthx.

[zomgee]

Free play for boreans

Get Roadshow kthx.

Getting Jack*Bot or Rollercoaster Tycoon next, sorry.

[demi]

But I think we can all agree that Donkey Kong 64 was the nadir of the genre.

while you nerds were having theology sessions over videogames, i already 100% yooka laylee. game is fine. stay mad and enjoy your ubi-gaming which is apparently cool now???

[Positive Touch]

we all complain about ubi games too you rare-sympathizing monster

[Purple Filth]

Was playing the Order 1886 but man is that game a POS so i haven't gotten back to it.

Played some Persona 5 

[a slime appears]

As a diehard Mario 64 fan who felt that game defined what 3d gameplay meant, I was always a snob about Banjo-Kazooie from a design perspective. It takes all the wrong lessons from Mario 64.

What wrong lessons did it take?

[Stoney Mason]

As a diehard Mario 64 fan who felt that game defined what 3d gameplay meant, I was always a snob about Banjo-Kazooie from a design perspective. It takes all the wrong lessons from Mario 64.

What wrong lessons did it take?

I think Banjo and a lot of games in the wake of the Mario really thought making a collect-athon was an important part of the experience of those games because you collect 8 coins on a mario 64 level or 70 coins in total. In Mario 64, I never thought about the collection aspect of the game. Yeah there is some of it, but its woven in so nicely it feels super organic and you generally don't feel punished in most situations as you so have so many ways to do what you need to do. It didn't feel that way in so many games that aped mario 64. It often felt frustrating and occasionally punishing at best or worthless at worst.