Video Games...Discuss Them

[Morris Schæffer]

The story is so convoluted I'd imagine you would not enjoy it if you don't know the history and references.

I don't even recommend you play Guns of the Patriots if you haven't at least played MGS or MGS2. It would make zero sense.

Man, i'm reading the stories on metal gear wiki to catch up and convoluted don't begin to cover this shit.

[Dukefrukem]

Man, i'm reading the stories on metal gear wiki to catch up and convoluted don't begin to cover this shit.

It's fucking crazy Morris. Even if you take it one game at a time, the stories are bonkers. The nostalgic value in playing Guns of the Patriots is why I consider it to be the best game ever made.

[bac0n]

Hi gang - I'm playing Witcher 3 (still!), level 23, and trying to equip and upgrade Geralt's Feline gear, currently wearing the enhanced version. It'd be nice to have it upgraded all the way to Mastercrafted by the time I enter the endgame, but I need to be level 34 to wear that stuff.

Anyway, I'm at the point where [

Show Spoiler

I've recruited several people to battle the Wild Hunt at Kaer Morhan, and need to go to The Isle of Mists to find Ciri

]. My question to those of you who have completed the story is: am I approaching the end of the story (in which case I'm gonna work on the side quests and witcher contracts to level my guy up more), or do I have a ways to go in the story yet?

[Scar]

Kind of. There's still a couple major things to do after that before it turns into a free roam so you can do any remaining quests / contracts. I, uh, had none, which is why the last 10% felt like a chore due to burn out.

[Spun Lepton]

I picked up Until Dawn. I'm about 3-4 hours in. So far, I'm enjoying it quite a bit! Peter Stormare's bits have been my favorites. He's so good at playing unnerving characters! I'll have to report back on things like replay-ability, since I'm still on the first run.

[D_Davis]

New patch for Diablo 3 hit on Tuesday. All kinds of new stuff.

[D_Davis]

And people say the story is complicated.

[megladon8]

I might end up buying a WiiU for Fast Racing Neo.

Was always an enormous fan of the F-Zero games.

[D_Davis]

Looks good.

Also - Bayonetta 2 (amazing), Captain Toad Treasure Tracker, and, coming soon, Xenoblade and Zelda.

[megladon8]

Been some weirdness with Playstation Trophies for me lately.

I'll accomplish a task that unlocks a trophy and it won't register. Then a few days (even up to a week) later, it'll suddenly pop up that I got that trophy. Sometimes it's even while I'm playing a different game.

Last night playing The Binding of Isaac, I unlocked the character Cain. Every character unlock is supposed to have a trophy, and it still hasn't shown up.

[megladon8]

Looks like trophies not unlocking in The Binding of Isaac is a widespread problem.

So I just died for the 70th time. Have yet to make it to the end once.

[megladon8]

Woo-hoo! Just had my first winning run and killed mom.

[D_Davis]

This past weekend I completed the first Metal Gear game I have completed since the first MGS - Ground Zeroes (I watched my buddy play through all of MGS2, and that was the last one I've seen in its entirety).

Kojima and co. have finally taken MGS into the modern era, with controls that make sense and are easy to use. I never once had a problem with dodging, aiming, standing, kneeling, hiding or sneaking. On top of that, the game looks amazing, and was a blast to play. I played through a few of the side missions as well.

I'm really looking forward to Phantom Pain.

[D_Davis]

Stayed up WAY too late last night playing Phantom Pain.

So good.

The prologue is a little long, but it's also brave and funny.

The first mission is great, and contains a hilarious exchange of dialog between Snake and Miller, and perfectly exemplifies Kojima's obsession with gear and accessories. At the beginning of the episode, while the credits are rolling, Boss's and Ocelot's eye wear gets a credit. And if you recall Miller's look, you'll appreciate how the joke carries through.

[megladon8]

As much as I adore the Halo series (and thought 343's first original entry in the series, Halo 4, was bloody masterful)...I am really unsure of Halo 5.

The whole forcing of co-op just doesn't appeal to me at all. That even in the campaign you are always with teammates is something I'm not particularly interested in with this series.

I'm hoping that it continues to push the story and universe in new and interesting direction, like 4 did, but I'm not nearly as excited as I was for the last entry 3 years ago. I might not even buy it, pending reviews.

[Spun Lepton]

All right, so I'm about 5 to 6 hours into Until Dawn. I may finish it tonight. Some horror fans may like to know, if you don't already, that the script was written mainly by Larry Fessenden. Yes, it purposely mires in slasher tropes. There's been a generous helping of Saw in it. But, I'm really enjoying it. Still, I have yet to see how grand their "Butterfly Effect" truly is. That will happen on the 2nd play-through.

Gameplay varies between: exploration, when you comb every area for "totems" and clues; decision-making, which, depending on the decision, could alter the course of events; QTE moments, usually during heavy action. The QTEs have consequences and you do not get do-overs.

Last night, I was playing a pair of characters who wandered the woods together. I'd found a totem, which are items that give you glimpses of upcoming events, good or bad, and which may or may not happen, depending on your choices. This one showed the character I was playing and their companion passing an item between each other. It was a clue that I should make that decision when that moment arrived. Not long after finding the totem, I made a dopey choice and set into motion a series of QTEs that I fucked up. My character died. Their companion became the focus for the rest of the scene. Eventually, I got to the scene that I had found in the totem ... but I had only one character! They couldn't pass the item off to the other character! I decided to pocket the item. That probably won't end well.

Peter Stormare is kicking ass all over this thing.

EDIT:

The story took a sharp left turn five or so hours in. This is no longer a slasher. Fans of Fessenden will love this.

[D_Davis]

I never thought that a Metal Gear game would be a favorite of mine, but here I am, ready to declare Phantom Pain a bona fide masterpiece.

This is one of the most complex and in depth games I've ever played. And not in terms of narrative. I'm talking exclusively about the systems and mechanics, and in how the game has nothing but the utmost respect for the player to get it.

The number of options and things available to do at any given moment are overwhelming. However, it's not the kind of thing like chasing down question marks on a map in The Witcher 3. All of the choices and options in PP have immediate consequences in each specific circumstance and scenario. And that the game rarely holds your hand or tells you how to approach a given situation is testament to its brilliant design, mainly because everything - no matter how complex - feels natural, and everything works exactly how you imagine it to work.

I'm constantly asking myself, "I wonder if I can do this?" or "I wonder if this will work?" and the answer is almost always YES! This is a game of "YES'es" in an industry that more often than not deals in "No's."

And while it's using established tropes and mechanics found in other games, Kojima and his team have honed and refined them to near perfection. It's a grand and epic experience that is simultaneously personal and immediate, and thus far the fat seems to be almost completely trimmed.

It's got exploration, stealth, action, base building, resource gathering, RPG elements, comedy, strategy and the kind of open-world shenanigans that modern gamerss crave, and yet it plays, looks and sounds better than just about anything else with any of these elements does.

And for once in a Metal Gear game, you can play for hours without ever being interrupted by a cut scene! As a matter of fact, after the prologue I haven't even seen a cut scene that lasted longer than a couple of minutes.

I am feeling that Dark Souls 1 level of obsession. And it feels great.

[Dukefrukem]

I never thought that a Metal Gear game would be a favorite of mine, but here I am, ready to declare Phantom Pain a bona fide masterpiece.

This is one of the most complex and in depth games I've ever played. And not in terms of narrative. I'm talking exclusively about the systems and mechanics, and in how the game has nothing but the utmost respect for the player to get it.

The number of options and things available to do at any given moment are overwhelming. However, it's not the kind of thing like chasing down question marks on a map in The Witcher 3. All of the choices and options in PP have immediate consequences in each specific circumstance and scenario. And that the game rarely holds your hand or tells you how to approach a given situation is testament to its brilliant design, mainly because everything - no matter how complex - feels natural, and everything works exactly how you imagine it to work.

I'm constantly asking myself, "I wonder if I can do this?" or "I wonder if this will work?" and the answer is almost always YES! This is a game of "YES'es" in an industry that more often than not deals in "No's."

And while it's using established tropes and mechanics found in other games, Kojima and his team have honed and refined them to near perfection. It's a grand and epic experience that is simultaneously personal and immediate, and thus far the fat seems to be almost completely trimmed.

It's got exploration, stealth, action, base building, resource gathering, RPG elements, comedy, strategy and the kind of open-world shenanigans that modern gamerss crave, and yet it plays, looks and sounds better than just about anything else with any of these elements does.

And for once in a Metal Gear game, you can play for hours without ever being interrupted by a cut scene! As a matter of fact, after the prologue I haven't even seen a cut scene that lasted longer than a couple of minutes.

I am feeling that Dark Souls 1 level of obsession. And it feels great.

Holy crap

[D_Davis]

Have you not played it yet, Duke?

[Dukefrukem]

Have you not played it yet, Duke?

I haven't played, read, watched, listened to anything in over a month.

I'm in love.

[D_Davis]

[Milky Joe]

You should have played MGS3, D. That's the feeling I got from it way back when. This new one seems like the real successor to MGS3 after the trainwreck that was MGS4. Wish I had a PS4.

[D_Davis]

I tried to play MGS3 but was completely turned off by the number and length of cut scenes, and the forced camera angles and control.

I really wanted to like it because it looked so good, but I couldn't get into it.

[Milky Joe]

Yeah. The Subsistence version changed the camera angle up and made it more playable.



This video from James Howell is a walkthrough of how to achieve FOXHOUND rank, the highest rank in the game. It's an extremely entertaining and well-put together video series that will give you an idea of the stuff you missed in MGS3. The variety of the game mechanics and sheer amount of ways the game allows you to play through it are staggering.

[D_Davis]

Thanks, I'll check it out.