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2015 VIDEO GAME CATCH-ALL THREAD


Gonzo

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My final conclusion on XCOM Enemy Unknown is unfortunately very much a thumbs in the middle. This really isn't a very good video game on any of the difficulties above normal at all. Ironman normal is still too easy in that even if you lose soldiers you'd have to play unbelievably bad to actually lose 8 countries and lose the game. You'll just have to grind a lot on the last mission, assuming you're of average skill. Ironman Classic difficulty is just... not good or particularly interesting at all. There really, really needs to be an option between those two that just doesn't exist, or at the very least built in sliders to tweak certain settings (IE importing the increased panic or unshackled AI from Classic into Normal, without giving the computer a bullshit aim cheat).

 

It's an okay game that I enjoyed playing through once before it became a chore, but it's really leaving me with the feeling it could have been so much better. A game that I loved on first playthrough and have soured on more pretty much by the minute since once you try and get more out of it than what initially meets the eye. Still, if you're only planning to go through it once, it's worth doing. But getting into Ironman, you will curse not being able to set certain aspects of the difficulty to your own tastes and that bugs me because man, it's RIGHT THERE.

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My final conclusion on XCOM Enemy Unknown is unfortunately very much a thumbs in the middle. This really isn't a very good video game on any of the difficulties above normal at all. Ironman normal is still too easy in that even if you lose soldiers you'd have to play unbelievably bad to actually lose 8 countries and lose the game. You'll just have to grind a lot on the last mission, assuming you're of average skill. Ironman Classic difficulty is just... not good or particularly interesting at all. There really, really needs to be an option between those two that just doesn't exist, or at the very least built in sliders to tweak certain settings (IE importing the increased panic or unshackled AI from Classic into Normal, without giving the computer a bullshit aim cheat).

 

It's an okay game that I enjoyed playing through once before it became a chore, but it's really leaving me with the feeling it could have been so much better. A game that I loved on first playthrough and have soured on more pretty much by the minute since once you try and get more out of it than what initially meets the eye. Still, if you're only planning to go through it once, it's worth doing. But getting into Ironman, you will curse not being able to set certain aspects of the difficulty to your own tastes and that bugs me because man, it's RIGHT THERE.

There are mods for that.  Unless you're playing the console version, in which case, yeah.  But PC, you can mod the crap out of the game and get all that you want.

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I might look into it, because I do like the base game it's just one of those things the more I fiddle with the advanced difficulties the more I hate them for being cheap as opposed to fulfilling. And I say that with the last game I beat being Tales of Maj'Eyal which is a notoriously difficult, maddening roguelike. I'm fine with difficulty as long as I never get the sensation of wasting my time chasing an achievement with no appreciable upswing in enjoyment. I can see on the Nexus there appears to be a couple pretty simple resources for tweaking game settings, those might be interesting.

 

I looked at the Long War mod too but that looks like something mainly for really hardcore XCOM players who love Impossible Mode but found it too forgiving.To each their own on that one, I guess, but it doesn't exactly read as something with a ton of wide appeal.

 

Only thing is I read a few things saying XCOM's latest patch really messes with mods unless you fiddle with your game, but not sure if those are out of date now or not.

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What were the other Shadow Hearts games like, anyway? I really enjoyed the morbidly goofy plot and the bizarre characters and the eerie settings and the overall feel of the first one, but the game's engine seemed stupidly overcomplicated. Having to mess around with the action-ring thingy with every single action you ever take in the whole game was an awfully aggravating chore. Being forced to constantly do those repetitive battles in the spirit graveyard also sucked, come to think of it. It felt like a perfectly decent game was bizarrely handicapped by developers who didn't think it was difficult enough and added in these fake challenges to make everything harder.

 

I remember the game being pretty good except for a couple annoying levels like the sandcrawler one.

I downloaded it and the sandcrawler levels are as terrible as I remember.
Oooh yeah, double-fuck those stupid sandcrawler levels. I just tried to replay that game a little while back, and quit in disgust after dying a dozen times on those goddamn jumps inside the crawler where you've gotta avoid the lava and land on those tiny-even-by-Metroid-standards ledges. Even I, a lifelong Castlevania diehard, think those jumps and that platforming is just way too difficult. Especially for some of the earliest levels in the game! It gets SO much easier after you get past that point, it's not even funny.
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What were the other Shadow Hearts games like, anyway? I really enjoyed the morbidly goofy plot and the bizarre characters and the eerie settings and the overall feel of the first one, but the game's engine seemed stupidly overcomplicated. Having to mess around with the action-ring thingy with every single action you ever take in the whole game was an awfully aggravating chore. Being forced to constantly do those repetitive battles in the spirit graveyard also sucked, come to think of it. It felt like a perfectly decent game was bizarrely handicapped by developers who didn't think it was difficult enough and added in these fake challenges to make everything harder.

 

 

There was a third, set in America, that I cannot remember the name of at the moment. I never played it, since it didn't have the same main character. There was also a prequal for PS1, called Koudelka, that I own but haven't played yet.

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I finally started the last part of the game of thrones telltale game.

I got so annoyed i stopped and went and read the plot synopsis. I doubt i will finish.

Not only were there any positive resolutions to the pov characters, it apparently left on a cliffhanger for s2 of the game.

Def wont be getting. Between the plot and the lagging graphics/dialogue, a very unpleasant game playinng experience.

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With my arm in a sling, I've been playing games that don't require a lot of physical proudest. Marvel puzzle quest, Zen Pinball,and I've started playing watch dogs again. I seriously doubt I'll ever get out of the first chapter of story mode, but I've been enjoying screwing around hunting things down again.

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Just ordered a PSTV for twenty bucks from Best Buy since I saw the deal on CAG. 

 

Welp, I suppose it's now time to go ahead and try a Persona game since P4G is ten bucks digital right now. 

 

Having a PS4 on the go and a way to play some of these Vita games I own on TV like Uncharted: GA and Killzone: Mercenary is great. Hell of a deal for me. Even for people who do not have Vitas but who want to play Vita games, getting a refurb 8GB card from Gamestop for twelve bucks, while still robbery for memory card space, isn't highway robbery and is probably worth it.  

 

EDIT: Shoot, Uncharted: GA isn't compatible, which is first, absurd, and second, probably why I was able to get one for twenty dollars.

 

Whatever, I can leave my PSOne in storage and play through Parasite Eve on a TV again for the first time since maybe 2002, so I'm still good with it, 

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So, on the unplayed games pile, I've got The Last of Us, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Sleeping Dogs and Just Cause 2. Which should I play first?

 

EDIT: and Dead Island.

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So, do I bother downloading Dungeon Siege 3 since it is free with my XBL Gold membership?

I put an hour or so into it this weekend. Very Diablo-esque. Seems alright so far. It won't blow you away or anything, but it's solid.

My girlfriend has convinced me to by an Xbox One. Probably this week. Not really hyped to drop the cash this close to Christmas, but the call of Fallout 4 is loud. I guess I can let her twist my arm on this one...

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Please say it's better to hold out until I have something that can run Sleeping Dogs Definitive Edition so that I don't have to buy the original now and feed my backlog which is already suffocating every pore.

The original game, which I played on a PS3, was pretty freaking awesome. I didn't feel like I missed anything by not playing the PS4-upgraded version and had no desire to play any DLC after.
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I played through one of the DLC mission packs and got through it in a couple of hours and I think the others are like that as well.

 

It is one of the best open world games of the past few years, probably in my top 5 of the genre for the 360/PS3 generation.

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