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cphite wrote:

TurtlePerson2 wrote:

Acidicheartburn wrote:

I had a similar experience, except I played Human Revolution on the Xbox and Mankind Divided on the PC. I loved HR. Tried Mankind Divided, played for about 13 hours and just forgot about it. Something about it just doesn't draw me in like the prior game. I plan on picking it back up and finishing it eventually maybe. It's not a bad game by any means, but it didn't really hook me.

It's interesting to me how a sequel can look and feel just like the original without retaining any of the original's "soul." I think that the story of HR was really compelling and MD just feels boring in comparison. On top of that, I remember the levels being a lot interesting in HR.

A while back, I read the blog of the guy who made Dust2 (Counterstrike's most popular map). I realized that bad level design and great level design look almost exactly the same, but the difference is felt almost immediately. I think that this is true of MD, it looks like something that I should like, but the gameplay is just stale in comparison.

I enjoyed both games, but I think I know what you mean... Human Revolution had a much better story, and really kinda pulled me into the world; whereas Mankind Divided just seems like the story is a way to string the levels together.

Oddly enough, these two games remind me a lot of the original Deus Ex and the first sequel... the original had a great story and a wonderfully (especially for the time) detailed world that really drew me in... and the sequel was like someone said "Hey, let's throw together a shooter based on that world!" With HR it was like they started from scratch and really tried to live up to the original; and then with MD it was like someone said "Hey, let's throw together another shooter based on that world!"

I bought DE:IW and tried to start it twice, but both times I just couldn't get in to it. It didn't help that I was playing it several years after it had come out and it was looking really dated. Still, I played the original DE in the late 2000s and it was still enjoyable even with as dated as it was. Truth be told, Deus Ex probably looked and felt dated when it was released in 2000.

Yeah, the original was definitely dated looking even for it's time. Considering that Halo: Combat Evolved came out a year later and looked an entire generation newer on an Xbox no less, it was certainly lacking.

Compare these two and remember there was a year separating these two games:




The start of the 2000's was certainly a rapidly evolving time for graphics but that's still a HUGE jump.

TurtlePerson2 wrote:

cphite wrote:

TurtlePerson2 wrote:

It's interesting to me how a sequel can look and feel just like the original without retaining any of the original's "soul." I think that the story of HR was really compelling and MD just feels boring in comparison. On top of that, I remember the levels being a lot interesting in HR.

A while back, I read the blog of the guy who made Dust2 (Counterstrike's most popular map). I realized that bad level design and great level design look almost exactly the same, but the difference is felt almost immediately. I think that this is true of MD, it looks like something that I should like, but the gameplay is just stale in comparison.

I enjoyed both games, but I think I know what you mean... Human Revolution had a much better story, and really kinda pulled me into the world; whereas Mankind Divided just seems like the story is a way to string the levels together.

Oddly enough, these two games remind me a lot of the original Deus Ex and the first sequel... the original had a great story and a wonderfully (especially for the time) detailed world that really drew me in... and the sequel was like someone said "Hey, let's throw together a shooter based on that world!" With HR it was like they started from scratch and really tried to live up to the original; and then with MD it was like someone said "Hey, let's throw together another shooter based on that world!"

I bought DE:IW and tried to start it twice, but both times I just couldn't get in to it. It didn't help that I was playing it several years after it had come out and it was looking really dated. Still, I played the original DE in the late 2000s and it was still enjoyable even with as dated as it was. Truth be told, Deus Ex probably looked and felt dated when it was released in 2000.

I remember IW being one of the first really bad examples of a game being dumbed down to the point where it actually hurt the game... for example, it had one generic ammo type - more powerful guns just used more ammo. And it really was just... boring somehow. I'm one of those weird folks who keeps games forever and can replay them over and over... I just replayed the original Neverwinter Nights to give you an example

DE:IW is one I remember selling just about the same day I finished it.

Finishing up Witcher 3's main questline, then I'll start on the DLCs.

bthylafh wrote:

Finishing up Witcher 3's main questline, then I'll start on the DLCs.

luckkkkkkkky

Hearts of Stone is good, but Blood and Wine is truly great. Toussaint is gorgeous.

Speaking of poor sequels, I noticed that the developers of dungeon defenders 2 re organized as an employee owned studio, for whatever reason, and are running a Kickstarter for a dungeon defenders successor. I'm hoping they get it right this time.

The first games simple charm and addictive gear farming made it a blast. Somehow the sequel lost all of the charm and fun, but these developers seen to be aware of that and intend to fix it.

New Sega Genesis games in 2018? Hell yeah. I bought the Steam version of Tanglewood and put the BIN file on my Mega Everdrive X5. Plays great in my Genesis, and it's super chill exploration. Not super-challenging, but fun nonetheless. If you don't have a Genesis or Mega Drive, you can play it with the bundled emulator with your Steam purchase or put the ROM in any emulator, including a Raspberry Pi setup on your TV.

After a long games drought (Steam says 21 days between logins), picked up Baba Is You last night.

Great game, but you gotta brain for it.

I bought Two Point Hospital this morning because it was 1/3 off on Steam, but I won't have time to play it today.

Just finished Assassins Creed:Origins last night. All in all really enjoyed it... the visuals are amazing.

One weird thing - and I am wondering if this was by design or a bug, so am throwing it out here to see if anyone else experienced the same thing... spoiler just in case:

It started with the quest where Aya has to alter the flame on the top of the lighthouse - it's after you've taken Cleopatra to meet Caesar. I got her up to the top, killed the mini-boss guarding it, and got her to the lantern itself. But I couldn't get her to interact with the lantern. Tried walking away and re-approaching a few times, nothing worked... suddenly the screen goes into loading mode, and I've got Biyak again, in the middle of a battle. Start killing Romans and then suddenly another loading screen, and Biyak is fighting an elephant. Kill the elephant, loading screen, and I am fighting Septimus. I defeat him and Caesar intervenes before I can confirm the kill. Then it goes into the cutscene where Biyak and Aya are told they're no longer welcome in the palace.

After that, the game seems to continue as normal -- but the whole series of events above seemed really, really weird. It's like it was skipping entire sequences or something.

DancinJack wrote:

bthylafh wrote:

Finishing up Witcher 3's main questline, then I'll start on the DLCs.

luckkkkkkkky

Hearts of Stone is good, but Blood and Wine is truly great. Toussaint is gorgeous.

You're not wrong. HoS was pretty good (finished it) and B&W looks like it'll be a great finish.

cphite wrote:

After that, the game seems to continue as normal -- but the whole series of events above seemed really, really weird. It's like it was skipping entire sequences or something.

The AC series kind of lost me after Unity. I loved Black Flag and even enjoyed Rogue (which was a BF skin in the North Atlantic) but that had more to do with the open seas and just how dang much fun it is to raid ships. The story line in Black Flag was a ton of fun, too, and I was genuinely attached to Kenway and Adewale. Unity felt like such a step backwards, and I skipped everything since. Your technical troubles don't excite me for newer entries. :-/

I've played every older AC title, from 1, 2, Brotherhood, Revelations, 3, Black Flag, and Unity. I really enjoyed all the games until 3 which just didn't hook me, then I enjoyed Black Flag for everyone's usual reasons. Unity I played probably half of and just stopped. I got into some other games and it sorta got left behind. I actually think it's a solid game, and if it had come out in the place of 1 or 2 people wouldn't know the difference and would enjoy it.

I'm currently doing a playthrough of TES IV Oblivion again. I really think it's a better game than Skyrim, despite Skyrim's later-gen upgrades and quality of life improvements. The quests are just so so much more interesting and memorable in Oblivion, and the colorful gameworld really appeals to me as opposed to Skyrim's drab gray world.

I also rediscovered Raceroom Racing Experience and I've bought some cars and tracks for that. I've got over 300 hours in Assetto Corsa with my G920 wheel and Raceroom is a really nice change of pace with some different interesting cars. I think that with the G920, which isn't a high end wheel, Raceroom feels more like steering a real car than Assetto but it's less realistic with the handling physics. Seems like you can really thrash on cars in Raceroom without too many issues.

Just finished Shadow of the tomb raider. really nice! I should get the first one in this series...

Now playing Far Cry 3. Kind of like tomb raider but for guys...

Next up will be far cry 5...

Completely finished with Witcher 3 and all DLCs save for the Gwent-related quests. It's such a good game that I regret there being no more lands to conquer... but at least there's New Game+.

Risk of Rain 2.

It's in early access but already much more fun and polished than the majority of AAA cashgrabs out these days. Third person 3D roguelike co-op shooter, with lots of items and character classes to unlock.

I haven't had a chance to play it in multiplayer yet, but reports for MP have been pretty positive.

Voldenuit wrote:

Risk of Rain 2.

It's in early access but already much more fun and polished than the majority of AAA cashgrabs out these days. Third person 3D roguelike co-op shooter, with lots of items and character classes to unlock.

I haven't had a chance to play it in multiplayer yet, but reports for MP have been pretty positive.

While I like the idea, I don't like that RoR is moving to 3D / away from pixel art. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one on many plane rides on my crappy laptop.


I've been playing RogueTech recently (Battletech mod). It's much closer to tabletop (if you wanted to roll dice 37 times per round anyway) and MUCH more complicated and chaotic. So far I'm loving it along with the persistent battleground.

So, re: AC stuff. Funk/Acidicheartburn/Cphite

If you can get them cheap and are willing to give it a shot, there are a couple AC games after Unity that are worth it. Syndicate has (I'm not sure about how it was on release) virtually none of the technical issues that Unity did. It's old-timey London and it's pretty great. And having to play as two different chars that have different abilities is cool. It can get repetitive like any AC game, but IMO it's worth 5-10 bucks if you can find it for that.

The second I'd suggest is the newest one, Odyssey. It's far less old AC than it is just a big, open RPG at this point. And IMO it's good. Good enough to give it a shot. I got it for free from that Google Project Stream beta thing and it's been a pleasant surprise. I wouldn't pay 60 bucks for it (though if I'm being honest I VERY RARELY pay 60 bucks for any game these days), but if you can find it for half that I'd suggest grabbing it.

I'm currently playing BL2 because I couldn't handle the BL3 hypetrain.

DancinJack wrote:

I'm currently playing BL2 because I couldn't handle the BL3 hypetrain.

Less hypetrain for me, but I am playing BL2 as well. Rolling the Commando instead of the Number this time 'round.

Sekiro on PC is consuming my life right now. I've been playing every spare moment. Even in the morning after a workout while I cool down waiting clean up and get ready for work.
It's just been this almost sublime experience. FromSoft, without the need to balance for PVP, and with a pure Single player experience, have made the ultimate 'teach through failure' game in a long time, possibly ever.
The combat has just enough variety in approach that you can find a method that suits your skills and personal affinities. And moving on the NG+ just really hammers home how MUCH you've learned about the combat over the course of the game. It's an incredible rush

Waco wrote:

Voldenuit wrote:

Risk of Rain 2.

It's in early access but already much more fun and polished than the majority of AAA cashgrabs out these days. Third person 3D roguelike co-op shooter, with lots of items and character classes to unlock.

I haven't had a chance to play it in multiplayer yet, but reports for MP have been pretty positive.

While I like the idea, I don't like that RoR is moving to 3D / away from pixel art. I thoroughly enjoyed the first one on many plane rides on my crappy laptop.

I didn't play the original, but all the reports I've heard have said how seamless the transition to 3D was. Most of the items and enemies from the first game were translated into the 3D game, and it seems to have worked really well. I'm a big fan of pixelart, but I'm also a big fan of hi-res low-fi 3D graphics, and RoR2's aesthetic really nails it for me.

Since my initial post, I've been playing it online with friends daily in parties of 2-3 (53 hrs played in past week and a bit), and we've been having a lot of fun. I've unlocked all the characters and am working on some of the harder to acquire unlockables. Played some Mercenary last night and had fun killing Wandering Vagrants (the giant jellyfish) by literally standing on their heads and whacking them to death with my sword.

DancinJack wrote:

The second I'd suggest is the newest one, Odyssey. It's far less old AC than it is just a big, open RPG at this point. And IMO it's good. Good enough to give it a shot. I got it for free from that Google Project Stream beta thing and it's been a pleasant surprise. I wouldn't pay 60 bucks for it (though if I'm being honest I VERY RARELY pay 60 bucks for any game these days), but if you can find it for half that I'd suggest grabbing it.

I got Odyssey for $20 from Gamestop during a "secret member days sale" a couple weeks back, and it's pretty decent. Definitely agree that it's not AC, just a sandbox RPG, but that's not a bad thing IMO.

Almost finished with the Orange box, playing through Half Life 2 EP:2 now. These games aged well in all the right ways. I think this is my forth playthrough of them. So sad that new games like Far Cry 5 and Crackdown 3 have less realistic physics than these old games.

I am going to revisit the Borderlands series on PC next. Played them all on 360 years back. Borderlands 3 can wait for a significant price drop.

Have a backlog of games like most here waiting too. Rise of the Tomb Raider, the new Assassin's Creed, Witcher 3, some of Metro games, etc. Seem to be enjoying the classics too much to get to the new stuff.

Space Tyrant. It's just $4 this weekend.

Having had quite a bit of fun with Satisfactory early access the last two weeks.

Finally getting around to Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

Just got into playing the new Outward game, like the looks of the game so far. The fact that I got it a tad cheaper here also helped: https://www.eneba.com/steam-outward-steam-key-global

AC:Unity is free for the next week as part of Ubisoft's donations toward the Notre Dame reconstruction effort. (I'm not quite sure how that ties in, but hey, free game).

Usacomp2k3 wrote:

AC:Unity is free for the next week as part of Ubisoft's donations toward the Notre Dame reconstruction effort. (I'm not quite sure how that ties in, but hey, free game).

Apparently Notre Dame featured heavily into the game's plot. Good on Ubisoft for donating and giving it away, though I've heard that it wasn't well received in the series. I picked it up, but I'm not sure if I'll try it out.

bthylafh wrote:

Finally getting around to Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.

I have such great love for this game. I hope you enjoy it. It does start out kind of slow, but once you unlock all the free-roaming on the high seas, it's a ton of fun. Weirdly, I don't play AC for the whole Assassins vs Templars. I just like the parkour and the stealth and the high seas adventure and even some of the trade route minigame.