2017 VIDEO GAME CATCH-ALL THREAD

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

DEAD CELLS [4] - If you have been following reviews or public opinion, here's my review- it's as good as everyone says. If you haven't, Dead Cells is a Castlevania Symphony of the Night Rougelite, with a healthy amount of Dark Souls currency fear. It can be brutally difficult if you get arrogant or if you panic, also much like the Souls games, but patience is rewarded just as much. It plays beautifully, it unfolds itself wonderfully, and even though it's in early access there's a lot to enjoy already. Just outstanding.

PREY [n/a] - I can't give a strong opinion on this game yet, because I got two hours in, I want to play it very badly, and my PC kind of can't handle it, so I'm putting together a new computer and Prey will be how I test it out. Preliminary opinion: I am SUPER down.

let's talk about some games I refunded. quick note: refunds are because money is tight, not because I'm like suddenly super defiant.

TRACKMANIA 2 LAGOON [2] - Refunded within an hour. This one is half my fault, and half the game's fault. The part that's my fault is that I've played all these games pretty much exclusively with a keyboard, and this game is the first time that that's totally unfeasible. The handling model is very, very particular. My hand cramped up pretty tightly trying to manage it. So that's the part that's my fault. The part that's the games fault is that the maps it launches with are totally inadequate, so I'm gonna give it like half a year and a sale before I check back in. For now, I need that money.

STRAFE [1] - Refunded after an hour. What a killer idea. What a not-killer execution. The thing that makes a rogue-like game manageable is is the idea of making progress throughout multiple runs. This is accomplished either through earning material goods (Dead Cells, Rogue Legacy), or acquiring advanced understanding of The Scale Of The Bullshit (Spelunky). That's the part Strafe is awful at. I did at least fifteen runs and felt like I had just wasted that time. I didn't feel like I was advancing towards anything, or that I was going to find anything new. Even meeting new enemies was just like a momentary identification of "oh, this does that. alright." I just died, over and over, and felt no forward momentum for the effort I put in. This one made me sad to refund.

VANQUISH [2] - 30 minutes til refund. This one's all my fault. I let my friends hype this game up to me without looking at it for myself, and then within the intro mission I discovered I did not like the aiming, the shooting, or the looking at it in general. That's a pretty rough combo of things to dislike. A friend of mine has it through their steam account so if I get yelled at I'll just do the friend account stuff we have set up, but GOSH, I bounced off this one nearly immediately.

 

[assfax]

Ain't no way Vanquish is worse than that bullshit space marines game.

[Death From Above]

or acquiring advanced understanding of The Scale Of The Bullshit (Spelunky). That's the part Strafe is awful at. I did at least fifteen runs and felt like I had just wasted that time. I didn't feel like I was advancing towards anything, or that I was going to find anything new. Even meeting new enemies was just like a momentary identification of "oh, this does that. alright." I just died, over and over, and felt no forward momentum for the effort I put in. 

 

This is exactly how I feel about Dungeon of the Endless.

 

I like everything else about it pretty much, but it's a roguelike that fails on a really key level that drove me away despite enjoying what they wanted to do. A weird one.

[Andrew POE!]

Got my 80th Platinum trophy with Bloodborne! Hopefully I'll get a theme in email from Sony soon!

Vanquish is an acquired taste -- I really got the hang of it towards the end. Basically you have slide around the whole time, and shoot enemies. It's almost Ninja Gaiden as a shooter if that makes any sense.

I'm planning on getting the Platinum for it -- I'm either crazy or a glutton for punishment.

[Basara]

13 hours ago, Andrew POE! said:

Got my 80th Platinum trophy with Bloodborne! Hopefully I'll get a theme in email from Sony soon!

Bloodborne was my first platinum (one of only 3) and probably still my favourite game on the PS4. I never did get that email with the theme. Maybe it was just a US thing?

Speaking of From titles. I finally got around to playing the Dark Souls 3 DLC. Gotta say i was a little disappointed. Especially compared to the insanely good Bloodborne: The Old Hunters. The first felt very rushed, i don't think it took more than a couple of hours to get through. The second defiantly felt like a step up, much more Dark Souls like with more NPCs and locations but what really disappointed me on them both were the boss fights. Even the toughest of bosses in these games have always felt harsh but fair. Most of the boss fights in the 2 DS3 DLCs are bullet sponges. Even the interesting ones that make for a good fight have such a huge health pool that it takes all the fun out of it.

Picked up  Nier: Automata today which I've been looking forward to playing since i tried out the demo and i plan to give Overwatch a try since it's free for the weekend too.

[Salads]

Vanquish is odd in that I currently think of it as a great that I could play forever, but I didn't think much of it on my first playthrough. It's a short game so it's not in 'this JRPG really gets going after twenty hours in so stick with it!' territory, but until you're confident enough to boost into the heart of conflict and mix things up you're left with a drab cover shooter.

[Death From Above]

I am trying Kentucky Route Zero since it got humble bundle'd, which surprised me since even now it very rarely goes on sale. Only played the first act so far. I can see why BL88 thought it would be something I'd like being as this feels very much in the same wheelhouse of dark weirdo Americana as the Jay Munly records I kept insisting I liked to him. I really hope they actually get around to that fifth act at some point (act four took 22 months) because so far through act 1 it's certainly interesting and has my attention.

[Kevin Wilson]

I say this as someone that owns an XBox One, but at what point does the discussion start that the XBox One was at best a big disappointment and at worst a failure? It has sold half as many units as the PS4, and about a third of what the XBox 360 sold.  Halo 5 is the worst selling of the main series (which seems to have peaked at Halo 3) and Gears of War 4 sold half that of any other game in the series (I mention those two since they are Microsoft's more blockbuster exclusives). The XBox One is by far the least played of my four systems, which is partially because I prefer the PS4 controller and that is what my brother has so any multi-platform game I get for PS4. On top of that, their 'upgraded' version coming out this fall I think will be too high-end for most gamers, so while it will sell I don't think it will really boost their numbers. In 2017 in regards to software, the XBox One has only one game in the Top 20, which is Ghost Recon at #10.

I don't think the XBox One truly recovered from the bad press it got at the E3 before it debuted, and Sony did the right things out of the gate and just never looked back. I'm not sure where the Switch counts in regards to console generations, but I have little doubt that ultimately it will pass XBox One in sales even if it takes a few years, since it doubles as a handheld. I have no idea how much longer Microsoft and Sony will keep doing this, as both kinda went from "gaming machines" to "ENTERTAINMENT CENTERS" back to "gaming machines" so I am not sure what their long term plans are. I think this will probably be the last cycle I am so fiscally irresponsible to end up with every method of playing games, I'll probably take a more "wait and see" approach and see if the different options offer something different enough to justify it. I know XBox has their own VR coming out next year but I can't do VR (yet) anyway due to motion sickness issues, so it will have to be something better than that down the road.

 

 

[Basara]

12 hours ago, Kevin Wilson said:

I say this as someone that owns an XBox One, but at what point does the discussion start that the XBox One was at best a big disappointment and at worst a failure? It has sold half as many units as the PS4, and about a third of what the XBox 360 sold.  Halo 5 is the worst selling of the main series (which seems to have peaked at Halo 3) and Gears of War 4 sold half that of any other game in the series (I mention those two since they are Microsoft's more blockbuster exclusives). The XBox One is by far the least played of my four systems, which is partially because I prefer the PS4 controller and that is what my brother has so any multi-platform game I get for PS4. On top of that, their 'upgraded' version coming out this fall I think will be too high-end for most gamers, so while it will sell I don't think it will really boost their numbers. In 2017 in regards to software, the XBox One has only one game in the Top 20, which is Ghost Recon at #10.

I don't think the XBox One truly recovered from the bad press it got at the E3 before it debuted, and Sony did the right things out of the gate and just never looked back. I'm not sure where the Switch counts in regards to console generations, but I have little doubt that ultimately it will pass XBox One in sales even if it takes a few years, since it doubles as a handheld. I have no idea how much longer Microsoft and Sony will keep doing this, as both kinda went from "gaming machines" to "ENTERTAINMENT CENTERS" back to "gaming machines" so I am not sure what their long term plans are. I think this will probably be the last cycle I am so fiscally irresponsible to end up with every method of playing games, I'll probably take a more "wait and see" approach and see if the different options offer something different enough to justify it. I know XBox has their own VR coming out next year but I can't do VR (yet) anyway due to motion sickness issues, so it will have to be something better than that down the road.

 

 

Ignoring my personal preferences of the PS4 controller and UI over the XBox. My problem with Xbox is Microsoft seem more focused on backwards comparability and subscription services than they do coming up with new titles. Don't get me wrong, i'd love to have both consoles be fully backwards compatible without all the bullshit of PS Now or waiting for a title to become backwards compatible, and still having to download it anyway. Given the choice i'd rather have new, interesting, games made for this generation of consoles than worry about playing older games (or the constant remasters that get released). I didn't buy a new system to play old games and that's where Sony have Microsoft absolutely beat right now. Microsoft seem to prioritise this over taking a risk on a new IP while Sony put out some of the best games in recent years.

As for subscriptions, i don't play enough games anymore to make them worth while so i'm probably not the best judge on those.

[Death From Above]

Virtual Reality is still companies just straight up lighting money on fire as far as I can tell. I mean, hardcore PC people are basically your "money to burn" crowd and Steam's own internal tracking numbers say less than 0.5% total of their clientele own a VR headset. That doesn't even say how many are sitting unused due to lack of quality content. Gamers simply don't care that VR exists.

 

There really hasn't been a single genuine high level VR-specific game yet. It still feels to me like for all the improvements and bells/whistles VR has in 2017, it still suffers from almost all the same basic problems that kept developers from trying back in the Virtual Boy days. It still requires a totally reworked way of building games at a high resource cost, it still requires a goofy Jumbo Geordi Laforge headpiece, and it's still failed to make even the slightest dent in the mainstream. The press seem to love it because "ooooh, the future" but it's yet to make any real impact on the home gaming market. VR is still Laserdisk. The only difference in 2017 is that companies seem more willing to at least experiment with it knowing there's really not profit in it now because they believe in the next decade it will get better, but until VR produces an actual game of note I'm not sure where they're getting that from.

[Kevin Wilson]

17 hours ago, Death From Above said:

Virtual Reality is still companies just straight up lighting money on fire as far as I can tell. I mean, hardcore PC people are basically your "money to burn" crowd and Steam's own internal tracking numbers say less than 0.5% total of their clientele own a VR headset. That doesn't even say how many are sitting unused due to lack of quality content. Gamers simply don't care that VR exists.

 

There really hasn't been a single genuine high level VR-specific game yet. It still feels to me like for all the improvements and bells/whistles VR has in 2017, it still suffers from almost all the same basic problems that kept developers from trying back in the Virtual Boy days. It still requires a totally reworked way of building games at a high resource cost, it still requires a goofy Jumbo Geordi Laforge headpiece, and it's still failed to make even the slightest dent in the mainstream. The press seem to love it because "ooooh, the future" but it's yet to make any real impact on the home gaming market. VR is still Laserdisk. The only difference in 2017 is that companies seem more willing to at least experiment with it knowing there's really not profit in it now because they believe in the next decade it will get better, but until VR produces an actual game of note I'm not sure where they're getting that from.

Oh I agree, I have the same skepticism towards VR as I did 3D on TVs. I think companies are desperately trying to find the next technological advancement and be the first to do it because lets face it, we haven't had one in awhile in general. Each console has better graphics, and while 4K does look pretty its just a prettier version of what we already have. Everyone wants to find that next big new technological breakthrough and are spending millions of dollars trying to find it, but I don't think VR is that answer. At least not to be mainstream. Last I heard, Microsoft had like five companies making VR headsets for Windows/XBox, its crazy since there is no proof at all that the public as a whole is interested in spending $400+ to wear a headset while gaming or using their PC.

[Michael Sweetser]

I really, really, REALLY want to fall in love with VR gaming, but I have yet to see anything outside *maybe* the Star Trek bridge game that makes me think "This is so much better in VR than it would be on standard console".  

Maybe the reason we haven't done better than controllers for inputs is because the best thing for game input *is* controllers.

[Kevin Wilson]

53 minutes ago, Michael Sweetser said:

I really, really, REALLY want to fall in love with VR gaming, but I have yet to see anything outside *maybe* the Star Trek bridge game that makes me think "This is so much better in VR than it would be on standard console".  

Maybe the reason we haven't done better than controllers for inputs is because the best thing for game input *is* controllers.

I wanted to too, hell I even had an Oculus Rift and a PSVR (I mentioned before that I just automatically buy everything) because I wanted to see what it was like first-hand. And maybe it will still get there, I admit my slight motion sickness is part of my issue as some games I could never play, but as long as they are smooth or I have full control of the "motion" it was fine. But the controller will always be an issue as unless the game is on rails, you have to push something to move which isn't as fun. Unless we all buy these:

[Death From Above]

So I finished the four of five acts of Kentucky Route Zero we have, and I honestly have no idea what to say about this. "David Lynch-ian video game"? I dunno. Is this a story about hell? It kind of feels like a story about hell to me.

 

It's not really a game in any meaningful sense of the word, but it is one of the strangest interactive novels ever made. Or partially made, as the case may be.

 

I enjoyed it but I honestly have no idea what to make of it, at all. I'm glad I played it, I hope it gets finished at some point, but beyond that I really have no idea what to say about it.

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

hahahaha It's a story about a lot of things at the same time, which is why I love it so. I've played through those four acts three different times and I always pull something different from the characters and from where it goes. Plus, the bar scene in act 3 is one of the best things I've seen an adventure game even attempt, much less accomplish.

[BurningBeard]

I'm still hoping it'll get ported to PS4 at some point. Been wanting to play it for a few years now

[Death From Above]

Speaking of other games funded through Kickstarter, I was pleased to see in the last month a game called Astrobase Command hit a funding goal and may finally get made. Personally I haven't really played a base building game in space that scratched the itch since Startopia which was quite a while ago, so I am hopeful when it eventually launches next year that it can fill what I see as a bit of a void out there right now.

[Control]

I just finished UNCHARTED IV and what was the point of that epilogue?

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

"and they all lived happily ever after"

that one didn't seem too obscure

 

EDIT: To add actual substantiative content to this post, I have just finished Dragon Quest 7 and it was amazing. It's top 3 JRPGs for me at this point, behind Mother 3 and Phantasy Star 4. Anyways, that's three down (1, 5, 7), six to go. I just bought 2 for my phone, and I'll be able to start on 8 once Fire Pro World is out and I'm done transferring edits from the PS2 to that.

[Michael Sweetser]

2 hours ago, Control said:

I just finished UNCHARTED IV and what was the point of that epilogue?

To plant a seed for the inevitable reboot/sequel.

[EVA]

Yeah, what Sweetser said.  Setting up to carry on the series with Drake's daughter as the lead whenever they get back around to it.

I feel like the upcoming LOST LEGACY is definitely a trial balloon to see how audiences react to an Uncharted without Nathan as the lead.

[Control]

They could have done that with a cut scene. Why did I have to walk around and look at pictures and talk to the dog? What diminuendo.

[Andrew POE!]

4 hours ago, Control said:

I just finished UNCHARTED IV and what was the point of that epilogue?

It was really a send-off for the fans who have stuck with the series from Uncharted 1 (even through Golden Abyss). I liked it because it reminded you of earlier story beats but also made those playing it realize they are in their late '20s/early/mid 30's and the characters grew up with you too.

I really don't want an "Uncharted 5." The ending from the epilogue was perfect enough.

[Red is Dead]

11 hours ago, Control said:

I just finished UNCHARTED IV and what was the point of that epilogue?

To give you another chance at crash bandicoot?

[Shane]

100%'ed Lego City Undercover last night. Not sure what to play next. Sorta wish, despite knowing better, that Watch Dogs was the free Gold game for the *first* half of the month, as that sorta game is what I'm in the mood for right now...