2017 VIDEO GAME CATCH-ALL THREAD

[JLSigman]

For those who may be interested, Path of Exile, an actual, honest to god free to play Diablo clone by Grinding Gear Games, has made the huge leap to 3.0. 5 new Acts, new leagues, new stuff, etc. If you've been away for a long while (like I have) or want to try it out, now's a great time.

[Death From Above]

The only reason I don't play PoE is my internet connection's inherent lag. The game itself is great if you are/were a Diablo II addict.

[Andrew POE!]

Got my 86th Platinum with The Order: 1886.

[Travis Sheldon]

I D/Led PoE last week, but haven't had a chance to run it yet.

It looks fun and complicated on the leveling system.

Thinking of picking up a PS4 controller for PC gaming since all my controllers are ancient.

Any recommendations other than the PS4 comtroller?

[Cliff Hanger]

44 minutes ago, Travis Sheldon said:

I D/Led PoE last week, but haven't had a chance to run it yet.

It looks fun and complicated on the leveling system.

Thinking of picking up a PS4 controller for PC gaming since all my controllers are ancient.

Any recommendations other than the PS4 comtroller?

Are wireless and rumble important to you? If not, I generally recommend everyone get a Logitech F310, which is a $20 wired pad that mimics the PS1-3 Dual Shock layout. I have 3 (1 for my PC and 2 for my Pi box)

[Neil Koch]

Also, the PS4 controller's battery life isn't great and the sensor light in the front can be annoying if you're trying to play a game in a dimly lit room.

[Travis Sheldon]

Well, I picked up a Logitech F310 at Best Buy, so I'l probably get going on PoE later tonight.

I like the classic Playstation controller feel.

Very familiar.

[JLSigman]

On 7/31/2017 at 9:37 AM, JLSigman said:

Not sure how many hours (40ish?) but I'm up to the next to last dungeon (the Pharos at Ridorana) now. One thing I definitely do not like is that some spells you cannot buy, only find. Haste, Hastega, Bravery, Faith, and some others take exploring, and not realizing that until this far in is a bit of a backtracking chore. Also, Bravery seems to only last 60 seconds which makes it basically useless outside of boss fights unless you want your White Mage to be doing nothing but casting spells.

Finished this up Sunday afternoon, and still mulling it over. There's a lot of good changes, but I'm still on the fence about forcing exploration in an almost overwhelmingly huge game for even low level spells and techniks. I do want to give it another go to try out some other job combinations, but I'd also really like a guide so I can decide when I go after some places/spells/etc.

New Game + is weird. You start completely over at level 90(!!!) and one shot most monsters. Not what I usually expect from NG+, so I will probably ignore it.

[Cliff Hanger]

Did a couple challenges in Mega Man Legacy 2.  I feel like they really didn't understand what was so great about those in the  first LC.  Admittedly, multi-game mashups are hard when you've got 4  games built on 3 engines, but even limiting it to single-game remixes they missed the mark.  The first LC's remix stages had 10 or so segments that were designed to last 30-60 seconds each.  The first MM8 challenge only has 3 segments, but two of them are long enough to have internal checkpoints (the third is the second snowboard stage from  Frost Man, which is a different kind of too long). MM9's first remix doesn't feel any better, it starts with like a third of Galaxy Man's stage and then moves on to as much of Tornado man's.

[S.K.o.S.]

I'm not a gamer at all but I read a review for Slayaway Camp and found out it combines horror movies and puzzles, two things I like.  It's a bunch of Sokoban-style puzzles where you move around a grid killing people as you run into them, but every time you move your killer character he'll always move as far as possible in that direction until he hits something, which makes it tough to get to certain spots on the grid.  There's also all this horror movie flavor stuff where people scream and run away if you move next to them but aren't facing them, there's telephones that you can make ring to get people to come over and answer them, movie credits roll if you screw up and die, etc.  Lots of variety in the kills, and the puzzles have been very good so far, some real head-scratchers.  I was playing it on my laptop a couple nights ago, and based on the sound effects my gf actually thought I was watching a horror movie.

[Jiji]

At first, the idea sounded really neat. Then I saw you could only be the killer which I didn't love. But I tried it anyway and it's pretty fun.

[Death From Above]

I really want to love Hollow Knight but the difficulty ramp up at the aptly named City of Tears is just awful and lazy.

 

Everything else about the game has been great but I've basically been stuck on this area for 3 days worth of play and I'm ready to move on.

[Michael Sweetser]

I just started on Just Cause 3, and even though the controls are clunky (and the map even worse) it's still a fun blast.

I also got Death Road to Canada on Steam, and unfortunately, it doesn't seem to run right on Steam Link.  A pity because it's fun on the laptop. Hopefully it'll come to the PS4 soon.

I'm getting games out of the way before Yakuza Kiwami makes it to the states at the end of the month, because at that point, kiss my free game time goodbye.

[Jiji]

Death Road to Canada is fucking awesome! I made a bunch of horror movie characters (Ash and the crew from vs. The Evil Dead are my faves) and Braun and the Young Bucks. Seeing the Bucks pop up later on in the game and eventually probably screw your crew is perfect. I've probably played 30+ games and still have yet to survive. I've gotten close a few times, but always get burned eventually.

[Death From Above]

I really loved Death Road too and should fire it up again. Apparently it had another giant update I haven't even played yet.

My only winning runs involved making sure my main character focussed on shooting and basically hoarding ammo until the very last missions where if you aren't emptying the clip you aren't trying. Having a character that can talk your way out of bullshit like the bandit roadblock event never hurt either. Mechanics are also good because your car breaking down means extra walking time, which guarantees more Messy Things Happening. For me a lot of the game comes down to learning to survive without shooting for as long as possible, but even then some runs you're just gonna die. What makes the game good is that it actually really succeeds at making losing as much fun as winning.

 

(It's also definitely possible to win with the chainsaw, but it's REALLY HARD/RANDOM to have enough fuel left by the end to actually use the thing.)

[Death From Above]

I fired up Death Road to Canada and actually won my first game back. I forgot about all the custom people I added. Among people that helped along the way were:

- A skeleton person

- A talking dog

- Sidney Crosby (I dumped him for the skeleton person)

- A friend of mine from Australia (he was possessed by a demon, then later was eaten by zombies)

- Guile from Street Fighter. He was eaten by zombies.

- A well educated, skilled balding man named John Luck Pickard

God bless this game.

[Andrew POE!]

Got my 87th Platinum trophy with LIttleBigPlanet 3 today! The last level was tougher than most of the Ace (no death) run in LittleBigPlanet 2.

[sydneybrown]

I bought Inside for $10 a month or so and never got around to playing it and it ended up raining all day, so I figured now was as good a time as any.  And wow, I'll probably end up finishing it tomorrow, but this is one of the best PS4 games I've played, period.  It's short, you could legit finish it in a day (and it's absolutely anti-sandbox) but I don't feel cheated by that at all.  And the atmosphere is so perfect, I literally kinda got a little freaked out during part of it.  Absolutely recommend.  Actually it's even better if you play it on a rainy day.  Probably helps with the mood.

[JustJay]

I finally got Rocket League for Xbox One. Been playing it the last couple days and having a blast. I suck but that doesn't take away the fun factor.

[BurningBeard]

On 8/13/2017 at 4:47 AM, sydneybrown said:

I bought Inside for $10 a month or so and never got around to playing it and it ended up raining all day, so I figured now was as good a time as any.  And wow, I'll probably end up finishing it tomorrow, but this is one of the best PS4 games I've played, period.  It's short, you could legit finish it in a day (and it's absolutely anti-sandbox) but I don't feel cheated by that at all.  And the atmosphere is so perfect, I literally kinda got a little freaked out during part of it.  Absolutely recommend.  Actually it's even better if you play it on a rainy day.  Probably helps with the mood.

I picked up Oxenfree and Inside in the PS4 sale this weekend but not had time to play them. I might actually hold off on playing Inside until winter arrives and the outside gets a bit gloomy tbh

It's become increasingly obvious to me since I got my PS4 that I get very little enjoyment out of AAA titles these days, it's games like these that spark my imagination.

[Basara]

Finally got around to beating Horizon: Zero Dawn. It's taken about 45 hours over the course of 2 months but it was definitely worth it. I thought i was quite thorough but the statistics tell me i only did around 75% of the game. I'm sure there are a bunch of collectables sitting in the dirt out there somewhere but i think i probably got most of the side quests and errands. And while i did all the hunting trials I didn't go out of my way to get top marks on them all. I was missing 2 upgrade points at the end of the game so there's definitely something in there i didn't find. I also spent a lot of time just running around hunting dinosaurs because its damn fun, rather than actually progressing the game.

Holly crap are the credits long! Worth it for the post credit scene though (when did everything start getting post credit scenes anyway?)

There aren't many games i'd consider picking up the DLC for but if it's more of the same i'll be grabbing it when it comes out in November.

I see a lot of people calling it their game of the year or even the best game on the PS4. I'm not sure how i would compare it to Nier: Automata, the only other major title I've played this year. Horizon edges it out on the combat and while they both have great stories and worlds i'd have to give Nier the nod for the story. Best PS4 game still goes to Bloodborne for me. But Horizon is a top 5 for sure.

Next up on the 2017 catch up is Nioh. I love me some Bloodborne and Dark Souls but i haven't found another game to scratch that itch yet.

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

NO MAN'S SKY GOT PATCHED SO I STARTED OVER - GOD this game rules. I know people are still pissed and hey if that's you skip to the next game I'm gonna talk about cuz I was never on your team. The things they have done to this game over this patch are so fucking good. The planets feel more bizarre and noteworthy, and have as a result compelled me to actually start naming them because Damnit, everyone has to know about Planet Barbo. There's no animals and Heridium everywhere. It rules. My little base is cool too. I have a car that can drive straight up sheer walls. This game is still not Star Citizen, but it has pulled off a way more impressive feat: it's Sci-Fi Minecraft.

SONIC MANIA [4] - I'm fucking stunned. They managed to do a thing that a Sonic Game has not been capable of since like Sonic & Knuckles: when the game surprises you, it is with Something Good. I'm only a few hours in, and I get the sense that it's a pretty short game since it took two hours to beat A Major Boss Character That's Usually Later In These Games, but yeah. This, no joke, might be my second favorite game of the year so far. It's certainly given me more joy than a lot of the stuff I've tried to play.

DRAGON QUEST 2 [2] - Speaking of "tried to play." I can't tell if it's the nature of the port or the nature of the game, but man, I had to abandon ship on this one. I got the Android port. It's just... Okay so like last time when I was playing DQ1 it was interesting because like it was important to see like "Oh, this is the popularizing of this really crazy fringe thing" or whatever else the JRPG genre owes to Dragon Quest. With Dragon Quest 2, unless I am missing something drastic, the thing it adds is "party members." This is a significant thing. It also makes a slow ass game take three times as long. I can't see this one through. I also hear it's like insanely difficult, which I can believe, since I never at any point felt like I was leveled enough to be fighting anything at any point. So, as a result, I am redefining the rules of my Dragon Quest Quest, and if I decide I cannot finish a game, I relieve myself of all negative feelings about it.

THE DRAGON QUEST QUEST RANKINGS AS OF NOW.
1. VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past
2. V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
3. IX: Sentinels of the Starry Sky*
4. Dragon Quest
5. II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line
*provisional, have not finished yet on account of Bums Me Out Storyline-wise

I think I might pick IX back up soon and just work through it piece meal. I have VIII in my room and I'm waiting until I have finished transferring all my Fire Pro Returns wrasslers to FPWorld so as not to put the precious Playstation 2 at risk. I'd also like to see if that III port to PS4 is gonna hit the US before the end of the year, otherwise I'mma bust out the GBC emulator because it looks like the walk speed is faster than NES speed.

[SirSmUgly]

Sonic Mania takes all the best stuff about 2D Sonic (F-Zero-style speed-based gameplay + big levels that promote exploration) and puts it in a really pretty bundle. The concept of taking old levels and remixing them so that longtime players have some familiarity with the level, but are given the excitement of exploring it and seeing the changes, is brilliant. It worked for Sonic Generations, too. 

Two issues from having played for thirty or so minutes:

1. Fuck that UFO Chaos Emerald bonus level. I hated it in Sonic CD. I hate it now. Give me those Sonic 2 third-person over-the-shoulder tracks instead, please. 

2. Everyone is sick of Green Hill Zone, but I'm more sick of Chemical Plant Zone. Didn't like it when I was ten, don't like it now. It's only ever been a tolerable level in Generations. 

But yeah, this game is great. I think that people generally beat up Sonic's old-school 2D gameplay because they want it to be something that it isn't, namely a series of timing-based jumps through an obstacle course level in the vein of a Mario 2D game. I mean, if you like F-Zero, you should probably like Sonic. Hell, the UFO bonus levels are basically as close to a new F-Zero game as we're getting anytime soon.

My grade: A 5.0 in Fun Factor (RIP GamePro). 

EDIT: There is a Puyo Puyo boss battle?! OK, 5.5 in Fun Factor. Yeah, I broke the scale!

[Death From Above]

I love F-Zero and Sonic is and always has been trash. You are free to downthumb this good post on the internet.

[Cliff Hanger]

Man, fuck that part in Chemical Plant with the rotating chains of four blocks. And the Special Stage.  Otherwise, pretty rocking.