The Video Game Thread - anything and everything...

[JediMichael]

I was thinking that Space Marine 2 game was a Blizzard game, but guess not. The armor design is very similar to the marines from Starcraft.

And that FF7 Rebirth....as I've said about Remake, I have a bit of a love/hate towards it. Some from the whole whispers thing, which maybe they'll have a better reason in this next game, or 3rd one other than, just trying to make the story go the correct way lameness. And then some pacing issues within the story itself, but it was a beautiful game where the character's designs were spot on.
This next entry looks even more beautiful, since it was actually designed with current gen on mind. But of course, even great graphics does make a great game. Thankfully we mostly know where the story is going, depending on how much they change again.
Wondering how far it goes this time before it ends and having to wait for part 3.....
The end of the trailer says On 2 discs....yikes, thats kinda crazy.
I guess I have downloaded the last few games I've gotten, but I've not seen a game need more than 1 disc since the PlayStation 1 days.
I know a bluray can have up to quadruple layers and can technically have up to 128gb, although I don't know if the player has to have any special capabilities or not, and therefore not sure what a PS5/xbox can read.
I wonder if they will go with April again? Just 4 years later.
So maybe by 2028 we'll get the final part....

 

[Paul Andrew]

Until I saw the trailers for Spider-Man and FFVII rebirth I was about ready to give my PS5 the boot.
But those two both look worth hanging onto it for now.

 

[JediMichael]

Until I saw the trailers for Spider-Man and FFVII rebirth I was about ready to give my PS5 the boot.
But those two both look worth hanging onto it for now.

That reminds me. I have the PS4 Spider-man game from 2018 that I haven't taken the time to play, yet have heard good things about.
Not tried it yet, but I guess the PS5 is suppose to play a PS4 disc just fine. Hopefully it will also load things much faster, but still being a disc, not sure how much.

 

[Paul Andrew]

That reminds me. I have the PS4 Spider-man game from 2018 that I haven't taken the time to play, yet have heard good things about.
Not tried it yet, but I guess the PS5 is suppose to play a PS4 disc just fine. Hopefully it will also load things much faster, but still being a disc, not sure how much.

That first Spider-Man game is very very solid. It can get a little tedious if you want to. 100% everything, but it's got a really good story and fun action and it looks great.

 

[JediMichael]

That first Spider-Man game is very very solid. It can get a little tedious if you want to. 100% everything, but it's got a really good story and fun action and it looks great.

I have heard that, I mostly just keep forgetting I own it.
Or, if I think about it, another game, mostly an older old, like the FF Pixel Remasters come along and then I play that instead.
I sometimes have a hard time starting a new game.
The Batman PS3 games. One of them I started, played a few mins even got the first trophy for starting, then got busy with other stuff, finally came back and realized it had been a full year, almost to the day.
I'm bad at that.
Movies I want to watch, but just the thoughf of sitting there about to see the unknown, will puah me back to watching a film I've seen a ton of times.
Its weird.

 

[janglesworthy]

how many games do people own on steam they bought on sale and will never play? I have at least 100.

 

[Ron]

how many games do people own on steam they bought on sale and will never play? I have at least 100.

Gotta take advantage during sales.

 

[JediMichael]

I've done that with the Playstation store, although not bought hundreds.
Sometimes its fun to just randomly see what sales they have going on.

 

[Nth]

I was thinking that Space Marine 2 game was a Blizzard game, but guess not. The armor design is very similar to the marines from Starcraft.

Ironically, the urban legend is Starcraft started out as a Warhammer 40k game. For whatever reason the relations between Blizzard and Games Workshop fell through and rather than Blizzard scrapping their pre-production of the game they simply wrote their own lore and changed the races. I think Starcraft originally would have been Space Marines, Tyranids and Eldar and were swapped to Terrans, Zerg and Protoss.

Although lore wise the difference between Terran Marines and Adeptes Astartes is quite substantial. But the original concept of the power armor originates with Heinlein's Starship Troopers and the blue armor worn by the Confederate marines in Starcraft is definitely inspired by the color scheme of Warhammer 40k's Ultramarines.

 

[Riceball]

how many games do people own on steam they bought on sale and will never play? I have at least 100.

I have a ton of games on both GOG and Epic that I have only because they're free but likely won't ever play. I just like collecting games for some reason.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I usually grab any free games that look even the slightest bit interesting. I probably have more of those on Epic and GOG that purchased games.

 

[ghostryder]

John Carpenter's Toxic Commando:

 

[cboath]

I don't think the graphics matter much at all. I still play Fallout 4. There are tons of people who still play Fallout 3. If I ever played Skyrim, it would be the original. I don't need any of the remakes.

Usually i'd agree with that, but....The original Dark Forces with 2D sprites and the original Dark Forces II with characters with nearly literally block heads could use updating IMO

 

[cboath]

If you don't have time to play a game, don't play a game. I don't really care in your example because I don't play multi-player games. If you want to cheat in a single-player game, knock yourself out. Nobody cares.

I imagine that's more in the context if you were to play today - everyone else playing is ages ahead of you with everything unlocked. You decide to try today and you're toast over and over again. I wouldn't want to walk into a new game and have to get my butt kicked for a couple months before i had the equipment to actually compete with everyone else. However, that said, in that scenario, i'm also not forking out extra cash to get there, so i'd realized the situation and then just pass on that game.

So, i'm OK with the concept as long as it's pay to catch up and not pay to win. Too many games these days are set up exclusively as pay to win which is just a sad state really. I also really wanna know where all these people gets thousands to spend on a freaking game every month. I get what goes on on this site ain't cheap, but it's not really a weekly (or daily) thing like the games and in the end, here, you absolutely have something to show for it But games where you have to pay 2k for the new fancy 'castle of the week'...I don't get that.

 

[Sundowner]

This is kind of off topic but I'm looking to sell my Oculus and pick up a Nintendo Switch. Since having a kiddo, sitting down with my xbox is very easy and the VR is just not an option at this point. I like the portability the Switch offers which makes that enticing. How is the Switch when used as a console?

 

[cboath]

I was unaware of any graphical updates, though I kinda doubt there's much they can do. The models are so low in polygons that there's only so far you can upgrade whatever the textures are.

"Pay to win" has always been a bunch of nonsense in those games, and the people who complain about that stuff completely misunderstand what's really at issue in the games.

The core problem has always, always, always been that any system of unlocks/upgrades/whatever is going to confer a mechanical advantage on whoever has more stuff unlocked. Yes, even with "sidegrades." Why? Because "sidegrades" allow you to customize how your avatar performs in-game to better suit your own preferred playstyle. You get to tune your experience, and the guy with nothing unlocked doesn't. That means you have an advantage.

Moreover, unlocking stuff isn't remotely a testament to one's skill. It's more a testament to how long your ass has been in the chair playing the same game. Anyone, given enough time, will unlock almost everything in the game. The exception being the Battlefield system's usual problems with aerial vehicle unlocks (where, because some other ******* spends all day long doing nothing but flying, you will never be able to stay airborne long enough to unlock stuff). But even there, that's not so much "skill" as much as it is "getting there first so you can spend your time clubbing baby seals otherwise.

What people object to with "pay to win" is that someone else might either negate the advantage they have, or get one over on them the exact same way they already get one over on other people by expending a resource they either don't have or refuse to part with.

Ultimately, that's all that those "pay to unlock stuff" systems do: they shift the resource for unlocking from time to money. And people who have more time than money don't like that and say it's "unfair." It isn't. What's unfair is the mechanical advantages conferred by the unlock/progression system.

For me, that's not the case.

I think SWTOR was a good example. All the stuff you can actually buy with cash is cosmetic only. It conferred no competitive advantage at all. It lets you get the armor (visual) style you want, or the lightsaber or blaster color you want, or the mount you want (so you look cool), etc. But it has zero to do with gameplay. All the stuff that gives you better stats or abilities has to be earned through play - the sticking point there is it has to be earned via group play which makes it even harder as you have to get in with a good group.

If you have a game releasing day 1, and the campaign of the game takes 100 hours to get through before you get to 'end game' status where the good stuff is - and someone can just pay $500 or whatever to jump right to that gear/stat level - and we have to play against each other, that, to me is wrong. But these companies will add that ability simply because people will pay it.

 

[cboath]

That first Spider-Man game is very very solid. It can get a little tedious if you want to. 100% everything, but it's got a really good story and fun action and it looks great.

I'll echo that. It was Arkham City, but bright, lighthearted, and super fun with lots of challenges and good story. Made me really pissed off that Spiderman 2 is a bleeping PS5 exclusive.

 

[Nth]

This is kind of off topic but I'm looking to sell my Oculus and pick up a Nintendo Switch. Since having a kiddo, sitting down with my xbox is very easy and the VR is just not an option at this point. I like the portability the Switch offers which makes that enticing. How is the Switch when used as a console?

Awesome. I love my Switch and have mainly used it as a console instead of a handheld. Although multiplatform games can be hit and miss on the Switch since it's pretty old tech by this point, but first party stuff is generally spot on and Nintendo has many worthwhile exclusives worth picking up, plus the retro NES, SNES, N64 and Sega Genesis virtual consoles. For me Mario Kart alone would be worth picking it up for.

John Carpenter's Toxic Commando:

These are the same guys that did the World War Z game, so I'm sold.

 

[Paul Andrew]

This is kind of off topic but I'm looking to sell my Oculus and pick up a Nintendo Switch. Since having a kiddo, sitting down with my xbox is very easy and the VR is just not an option at this point. I like the portability the Switch offers which makes that enticing. How is the Switch when used as a console?

Mine never leaves the dock.
With a pro controller or an 8bitdo 3rd part controller you'll be pretty set. Switch is kind of the perfect second console. You can't beat Nintendo's first party games, and it's still great for retro stuff or tinier indie games.

 

[Cephus]

Usually i'd agree with that, but....The original Dark Forces with 2D sprites and the original Dark Forces II with characters with nearly literally block heads could use updating IMO

I'm not really a fan of retro gaming so I don't care. I play mostly modern games, and not a whole lot of those, so it's not a problem.