The Video Game Thread - anything and everything...

[Nth]

Blight: Survival gameplay footage released. 4 player co-op third person survival horror game set in a fantasy setting, looks amazing.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Street Fighter Fan | Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku! | By Killer Gaming | Facebook

1.1K views, 11 likes, 1 loves, 5 comments, 22 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Killer Gaming: Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku!

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[HeartBlade]

Yeah, Square Enix actually sold Crystal Dynamics off to Embracer, so any future Avengers stuff is coming out of Embracer's pocket.

I have, however, been pretty underwhelmed by several of their games. Avengers was fun right up until the content ran out and the developers were too broke to do anything other than make echo characters or (if the rumors prove true) frankenstein characters based on existing mechanics (which is what people think Winter Soldier will be). It'll just end up being one of these games where it had a TON of potential and the developer dropped the ball because corporate monkeyed around with things. Avengers really feels like it should've been a single player game, or one you could play co-op with friends running thru the campaign...and then they added some shoehorned in multiplayer and a half-assed loot system, all of which feels like something that was forced on them.

Yeah. The big trend before was open world, now its games as a service with constantly updating new content. I think people "think" they want this because "hey, more of my favorite thing is good" but in reality, its just bad for both the gamer and the developer.

First, it requires devs to focus on adding more stuff to the base game. They either need to develop new mechanics for the characters which can usually break the game or focus on copy-pasting content which its likely boring for the devs.

For the players, we either just consistently rehashed content or the mechanisms of the game become so deep, you a basically lost as a new player and need a PhD to understand it as an old player. Meta becomes a thing and for the hardest content, the best characters are needed rather than who the player wants to play as.

It also ends up delaying the sequel to an IP (see GTA V getting rereleased again for PS5) because the devs need to focus on adding new content to GTA online. The devs do win by making a ton of money for relatively less risk and work so publishers do love it though.

 

[Nth]

Aero GPX successfully funded on Kickstarter. If Nintendo won't make a new F-Zero, it was only a matter of time before fans did.

Season 3 of Deep Rock Galactic also started.

 

[JediMichael]

Aero GPX successfully funded on Kickstarter. If Nintendo won't make a new F-Zero, it was only a matter of time before fans did.

Looks like a mix of F-Zero and Wipeout in a cell shaded way. The team that did Wipeout then went on to make Pacer, original titled Formula Fusion, which I thought sounded better. But I haven't even played Pacer yet. Maybe I need to try that out finally.

 

[Nth]

Looks like a mix of F-Zero and Wipeout in a cell shaded way. The team that did Wipeout then went on to make Pacer, original titled Formula Fusion, which I thought sounded better. But I haven't even played Pacer yet. Maybe I need to try that out finally.

I think I like all the anti-grav racers. I think I have all the ones that have come out including what you've mentioned and the Red Out series. I still play the original F-Zero on my Switch through the classics store. Right now Aero GPX is just going to be on PC, but I am hoping it gets console releases if it does well.

Anyway....

Here's a new Darktide trailer

Some new Gungrave, which is only about a week away. Definitely seeing some of the Desperado in it as the anime was heavily inspired by that movie, including the way Grave launches rockets.

 

[Nth]

Mario Kart 8 December DLC tracks just revealed.

 

[cboath]

- I'll probably finish up the Spider-Man game pretty soon, although I'm hoping that the new Miles Morales game comes out for PC soon so I can just transition over to it relatively smoothly. As a single player game, this one is pretty terrific and, I think, rivals the Arkham games.

I picked this up solely off this comment and I gotta say it's pretty dead on. I mean, they flat out copied some stuff right out of the Arkham games (guys with shields, guns, stun batons). They literally function the same way. I've only just started - but those things don't bother me at all. I loved the Arkham games, but this is just much more fun. Writing is awesome. I laugh frequently - it's not too easy, not too hard (play on amazing level 3 of 4 difficulty - 4 the harderst).

It's just really fun and enjoyable.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

IDK, I played Arkham Origins first and then got the other games free on Epic when they celebrated some Batman anniversary. I tried playing the first game a couple weeks ago, but it's pretty much exactly the same with a different story. I ended up uninstalling it.

 

[HeartBlade]

Games I'm currently playing:

- I'll probably finish up the Spider-Man game pretty soon, although I'm hoping that the new Miles Morales game comes out for PC soon so I can just transition over to it relatively smoothly. As a single player game, this one is pretty terrific and, I think, rivals the Arkham games.


Speaking of Arkham games and those that want to give you that kind of vibe, anyone played Gotham Knights? Is it as lackluster as it looks and sounds?

Speak of the devil, Miles Morales is coming to PC!!!

Im guessing Spiderman 2 is going to remain PS5 exclusive for a while but will probably come to PC too eventually.

Yeah Spiderman is great although I wish they had a boss rush or allowed you to repeat boss fights in the endgame. The boss fights are unique but I cant save and keep multiple saves for each boss fight. Hope that is addressed in 2.

Havent played Gotham Knights but from what Ive heard, its more like Avengers than the Arkham series. First, its not made by Rocksteady who made the Arkhams and second, it apparently was going to be a live service game like Avengers until they saw Avengers flopped and reversed course. Hence, the game has a loot system to "grind to get stronger" and the combat is substandard compared to the Arkham series.

 

[Solo4114]

Anyway....

Here's a new Darktide trailer

I just picked up Darktide and, although I've only played one mission of it so far, I'm digging it. Good atmosphere, decent action, runs fine on my rig. I'm still kinda getting my bearings, but I like it decently well so far. Looking forward to getting a Ryza pattern lasgun at some point.

I picked this up solely off this comment and I gotta say it's pretty dead on. I mean, they flat out copied some stuff right out of the Arkham games (guys with shields, guns, stun batons). They literally function the same way. I've only just started - but those things don't bother me at all. I loved the Arkham games, but this is just much more fun. Writing is awesome. I laugh frequently - it's not too easy, not too hard (play on amazing level 3 of 4 difficulty - 4 the harderst).

It's just really fun and enjoyable.

Told ya! The DLC is solid, too. I kind of prefer how DLC integrated into Arkham Knight (which was perfect, in my opinion), but they work it into this game pretty well. It's all post-campaign. There are a few things I really don't like -- the Taskmaster and (in the DLC) Screwball challenges in particular, but the story is pretty good, the challenge level is decent (it gets harder than the core game), and it's still quite fun. The main game is the best part, though.

IDK, I played Arkham Origins first and then got the other games free on Epic when they celebrated some Batman anniversary. I tried playing the first game a couple weeks ago, but it's pretty much exactly the same with a different story. I ended up uninstalling it.

The Arkham games work best when played in release order and when played pretty much back-to-back. Arkham Asylum is good, but I'd argue it's not really necessary. Arkham Origins is decent but, again, not really necessary. Just a fun diversion, if you like the style of game. Arkham City and Arkham Knight with all its DLC, though...hoooboy that's where it's at. The combat is terrific, the story is fantastic and really builds off of the prior games, the DLC is well integrated, etc. Also, Arkham Knight is still one of the most gorgeous games I've played. It was way ahead of its time.

Speak of the devil, Miles Morales is coming to PC!!!

Im guessing Spiderman 2 is going to remain PS5 exclusive for a while but will probably come to PC too eventually.

Yeah Spiderman is great although I wish they had a boss rush or allowed you to repeat boss fights in the endgame. The boss fights are unique but I cant save and keep multiple saves for each boss fight. Hope that is addressed in 2.

Havent played Gotham Knights but from what Ive heard, its more like Avengers than the Arkham series. First, its not made by Rocksteady who made the Arkhams and second, it apparently was going to be a live service game like Avengers until they saw Avengers flopped and reversed course. Hence, the game has a loot system to "grind to get stronger" and the combat is substandard compared to the Arkham series.

I just got Miles Morales! So far, I'm really enjoying it.

Observations thus far at around 19% finished:

The game overall feels like an improvement on the original, but still is VERY close to the original. Miles has most of Peter's basic combat moves, but doesn't have to unlock most of them (yay!). Instead, character progression tends to simply amplify or add power to what you can already do. There are a few moves you unlock through "training" (this game's version of Taskmaster challenges, but waaaay less annoying because Pete is relentlessly complimentary and fun to listen to), but most stuff you can just...do. In general, I think core aspects of a character's abilities shouldn't have to be unlocked.

Miles relies way less on active gadgetry than Pete, which adds a nice flavor difference. He gets other powers which are gradually revealed through the game, and these help distinguish the two characters in a nice way. In other words, Miles doesn't simply feel like a Pete clone in a different colored suit. He feels like his own character, but with core ability overlap with Pete.

Other advancement (suit unlocks and mod unlocks) are a bit more streamlined so you don't need to do XYZ activity type to advance this, but ABC activity type to advance that. There's now only two "currencies"/token types, and you can get them from fully repeatable activities (albeit slower than if you do the non-repeatable ones).

So far, the story is just as good, although we've yet to get to any serious rogues gallery (I'm not sure who Miles' rogues gallery includes, anyway).

I'd say if you love the first Spider-Man game, pick up the Miles Morales game and just keep things going for a while longer. You can find it on CDKeys.com for a discounted price (that's where I picked up my Steam key). They're legit. I've used them for years.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

The Arkham games work best when played in release order and when played pretty much back-to-back. Arkham Asylum is good, but I'd argue it's not really necessary. Arkham Origins is decent but, again, not really necessary. Just a fun diversion, if you like the style of game. Arkham City and Arkham Knight with all its DLC, though...hoooboy that's where it's at. The combat is terrific, the story is fantastic and really builds off of the prior games, the DLC is well integrated, etc. Also, Arkham Knight is still one of the most gorgeous games I've played. It was way ahead of its time.

Ok well maybe I'll skip that one and play those two.

 

[HeartBlade]

I just got Miles Morales! So far, I'm really enjoying it.

Observations thus far at around 19% finished:

The game overall feels like an improvement on the original, but still is VERY close to the original. Miles has most of Peter's basic combat moves, but doesn't have to unlock most of them (yay!). Instead, character progression tends to simply amplify or add power to what you can already do. There are a few moves you unlock through "training" (this game's version of Taskmaster challenges, but waaaay less annoying because Pete is relentlessly complimentary and fun to listen to), but most stuff you can just...do. In general, I think core aspects of a character's abilities shouldn't have to be unlocked.

Miles relies way less on active gadgetry than Pete, which adds a nice flavor difference. He gets other powers which are gradually revealed through the game, and these help distinguish the two characters in a nice way. In other words, Miles doesn't simply feel like a Pete clone in a different colored suit. He feels like his own character, but with core ability overlap with Pete.

Other advancement (suit unlocks and mod unlocks) are a bit more streamlined so you don't need to do XYZ activity type to advance this, but ABC activity type to advance that. There's now only two "currencies"/token types, and you can get them from fully repeatable activities (albeit slower than if you do the non-repeatable ones).

So far, the story is just as good, although we've yet to get to any serious rogues gallery (I'm not sure who Miles' rogues gallery includes, anyway).

I'd say if you love the first Spider-Man game, pick up the Miles Morales game and just keep things going for a while longer. You can find it on CDKeys.com for a discounted price (that's where I picked up my Steam key). They're legit. I've used them for years.

Yeah they did a great job making Miles his own character although I feel he is "better" than Peter as a result. Not a problem in this game but its rumored that both will be playable in Spiderman 2. If this is the case, why choose Peter over Miles (unless enemies are revamped so electricity is not OP or a greater variety of gadgets are added for Peter to pick and choose).

Agreed that the PS4 Spidermens' stories are great and underrated. Maybe its because they were superhero games and arnt super-focused on saving an "innocent kid" which seems to be the basis for "good storytelling" (God of War, the last of us) but I do think the games had great stories and were true to the concept of Spiderman.

This is one problem with Miles imo. Since he is a far newer character compared to Peter, his rogue's gallery is lacking in both quantity and uniqueness. Alot of his rogues are carry overs from Peter or are derivatives of them. His notable Supervillain is Prowler but I agree that he needs more but thats for the comic book writers to make or to make previously irrelevant villains fan-favorites like Arkham with Calendar man (and the game does).

 

[Solo4114]

Ok well maybe I'll skip that one and play those two.

Yeah, Asylum was good in its day, and I still enjoy it, but it's a bit more linear and contained than City and Knight. There's one bit from Asylum (the finale) that influences City, but you can just look up the story spoilers or watch the ending to get what's going on there.

 

[Solo4114]

Yeah they did a great job making Miles his own character although I feel he is "better" than Peter as a result. Not a problem in this game but its rumored that both will be playable in Spiderman 2. If this is the case, why choose Peter over Miles (unless enemies are revamped so electricity is not OP or a greater variety of gadgets are added for Peter to pick and choose).

Agreed that the PS4 Spidermens' stories are great and underrated. Maybe its because they were superhero games and arnt super-focused on saving an "innocent kid" which seems to be the basis for "good storytelling" (God of War, the last of us) but I do think the games had great stories and were true to the concept of Spiderman.

This is one problem with Miles imo. Since he is a far newer character compared to Peter, his rogue's gallery is lacking in both quantity and uniqueness. Alot of his rogues are carry overs from Peter or are derivatives of them. His notable Supervillain is Prowler but I agree that he needs more but thats for the comic book writers to make or to make previously irrelevant villains fan-favorites like Arkham with Calendar man (and the game does).

Yeah, agreed. I think they can differentiate the two, with Peter being more gadget-oriented to expand his versatility, but Miles having his venom abilities letting him do different stuff. Pete could develop all new gadgets in the next game and that'd work fine.

I'm just hoping they finally release Spider-Man 2 simultaneously on PC instead of in, like, 3 years or whatever. They probably won't, though. I hate the "exclusives" system, especially when there's been such a shortage of the actual consoles themselves. I mean we're, what, 3 years into PS5's lifespan and they're STILL having difficulty keeping up?

 

[HeartBlade]

Yeah, agreed. I think they can differentiate the two, with Peter being more gadget-oriented to expand his versatility, but Miles having his venom abilities letting him do different stuff. Pete could develop all new gadgets in the next game and that'd work fine.

True but one big issue as shown with the Spiderman DLC is that gadgets are almost useless against Sable armor which makes electricity-based powers very OP (electric webs and spider bro still deal tons of damage and are very powerful by also adding stun mechanic compared to other options). The number of sable-armored enemies needs to be reduced and maybe add electric-resistant or electro minions or something to make electric powers not the "gun beats rock paper scissors" option.

I'm just hoping they finally release Spider-Man 2 simultaneously on PC instead of in, like, 3 years or whatever. They probably won't, though. I hate the "exclusives" system, especially when there's been such a shortage of the actual consoles themselves. I mean we're, what, 3 years into PS5's lifespan and they're STILL having difficulty keeping up?

This isnt happening. God of War Ragnarok is not having a simultaneous release and there is no incentive for Sony to do so. Exclusives have always been the core differentiator in the video game industry which is why when it comes to "console wars," it innately is a question of which has better titles over which is the "more powerful" system and you cant say which console was "best" until after the era was over. Its also why Microsoft opened their bank accounts to purchase a ton of studios.

To be fair to Sony, they have been working to address the issue by redesigning the PS5 so they produce more consoles, made PS4 more viable by making releases also available to the PS4 (although this is ending this year I believe) and have put in many restrictions to prevent PS5 scalping, at least in Japan. Im still having trouble getting a PS5 myself but Im not actively jumping through the hoops to get one (sign up for lotteries) and I have started to see them pop up in second hand stores (with a price far higher than the retail which is ridiculous. Even stores getting into the scalping game).

 

[Nth]

In spite of its mixed reception I did pick up The Callisto Protocol for PS5, if for nothing more than a placeholder while waiting for the Dead Space Remake next year. I still want to pick up Evil West and Gungrave, but I will have to wait until next year as December is going to be an expensive month for me and I still have Crisis Core on pre order for this month.

I also picked up Front Mission 1 Remake on Switch which kinda released under the radar without much fanfare. Hope Front Mission 2 comes out sooner than later and hopefully they release Advance Wars Remake; rumor says potential February release.

Now put on your hard hats, OSHA approved eye and ear protection and step into the latest Rumor Mill:

With the Video Game Awards only a few days away now, twitter has exploded with Metal Gear 'news' with some leakers saying that Metal Gear Solid Remake has been in the works since 2019, will be exclusive to PS5 and will be shown at the awards. The only reason I believe this is due to the Twitter exchange a bunch of the Metal Gear voice actors had on twitter a couple years ago where they jokingly talked about working on another mission together and then just left it at that.
One 'insider' has blatantly said outright Metal Gear Solid Remake is a 100% true and that Sony is funding development to keep them exclusive. If sales do well Metal Gear 2 and 4 will also get full Remakes.

A Metal Gear 3 Remake exclusive to the PS5 was also mentioned and Metal Gear Solid 1-3 Remasters are in the works for both Xbox platforms, both Sony platforms and PC potentially to be sold as a bundled legacy collection.

 

[JediMichael]

After winning a PS5 at my works Christmas party on Saturday, I can now catch up on the PS5 only games.
Currently playing Sonic Frontiers after buying it as a black Friday sale, but thankfully got the PS5 before down loading it.

 

[firesprite]

My husband got me a copy of Marvel's Midnight Suns as part of my Christmas gift, and it is my new obsession.
I played WAY too much of it over the weekend, and 32 hours in... I've reached part 2 of the story!

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

My husband got me a copy of Marvel's Midnight Suns as part of my Christmas gift, and it is my new obsession.
I played WAY too much of it over the weekend, and 32 hours in... I've reached part 2 of the story!

I'm torn because it's from the same developer as XCOM, but I've read some reviews calling it a card game/social simulator. I might wait a while until it's discounted a little bit.