Video Games...Discuss Them

[Morris Schæffer]

Nova Prospekt looms in Half-Life 2.

[Dukefrukem]

Nova Prospekt looms in Half-Life 2.

Worst part of the game IMO

[Idioteque Stalker]

So this just popped up for me as an ad on youtube, and I actually watched the whole thing because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. This is immediately my least favorite game trailer ever. So it's the plot of Death Stranding, the gameplay of Euro Truck Simulator, and the dead ass seriousness of The Last of Us? The voiceover, my god. Special appearance from Navistar International. "United we drive." Had to share this abomination.

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[Milky Joe]

Huh? It looks awesome.

I didn't see that trailer, which sounds like a Covid commercial, but this overview made the game look pretty great.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Yeah, the game looks like it could be fun. It was the trailer specifically I find appalling.

[Morris Schæffer]

Worst part of the game IMO

You may be right. It's more repetitive, corridor after corridor, some rather basic boss fights (huge headcrab, more than once), but I like the journey to Nova Prospekt, I like the initial moments as you're about to enter it, commanding ant lions is kinda cool, there's one pulse-pounding boss fight where you're fighting two combine aircraft at once.

I like the whole level, but I can see weakest.

I'm not sure whether I missed it before, but I was now acutely aware throughout the game of the passage of time, the sky a dark red/orange color as night looms and you're about to jump of the dam to Black Mesa east. I also appreciated how, when you exit the mines, seagull sounds can be heard, indicating you're approaching the coast.

I also got the expansion Lost Coast, never played it, is that sorta worth it? I recall back in the day that was more of a tech showcase.

[Dukefrukem]

You may be right. It's more repetitive, corridor after corridor, some rather basic boss fights (huge headcrab, more than once), but I like the journey to Nova Prospekt, I like the initial moments as you're about to enter it, commanding ant lions is kinda cool, there's one pulse-pounding boss fight where you're fighting two combine aircraft at once.

I like the whole level, but I can see weakest.

I'm not sure whether I missed it before, but I was now acutely aware throughout the game of the passage of time, the sky a dark red/orange color as night looms and you're about to jump of the dam to Black Mesa east. I also appreciated how, when you exit the mines, seagull sounds can be heard, indicating you're approaching the coast.

I also got the expansion Lost Coast, never played it, is that sorta worth it? I recall back in the day that was more of a tech showcase.

Yeh Lost Cost was just showcasing HDR in the source engine. It's a big nothing.

And yes, the sunset right before getting to Black Mesa East and then leaving BME for Raven Holm is my favorite section of the game.

Those words spoken by Alyx are haunting. "That's the old passage to Ravenholm. We don't go there anymore." she says with a look of dread on her face. BRILLIANT.

[Morris Schæffer]

Be careful chaps, apparently major plot spoilers were leaked for The last of us 2. Avoid

[Ezee E]

Like we'll ever see that game

[Dukefrukem]

I've been playing stuff I can jump in and out of pretty quickly lately.

So I've been playing a LOT of Doom II.... Not Doom Infernal. I mean... 1995's Doom 2. I'm trying to beat a certain level on Nightmare mode, and I'm pretty confident it's impossible. There's just not enough ammo and with enemies self reviving, there's no way to get through the level without BOTH Arch-viles killing you from across the map. Fun to try though. I guess I should drop the difficulty to see if I can do it on the non-self reviving enemy one.

Also.. Torchlight 2 - What a fun little romp. Hard to not see the WoW and Diablo similarities but I think that's the point no?

Also been playing a small indie title called Get Even - It's like a combination of Outlast, Amnesia the Dark Descent, Condemned with a little bit of Assassin's Creed and some of the psychedelic episodes of Max Payne mixed in. yeh that's a wide range of games. I think that is the game's biggest flaw is it's trying to do too much and in turn, there is very little "gaming" in the game. The game relies on you to find "clues" like Condemned or Batman Arkham City and what you find changes your outcome later in the game. But finding clues is really the only "game" part of it. It's linear as shit which is a little bit disappointing.

And as a little bit of a time waster... a simple little game called Let them Come - You're a Marine alla Aliens defending your hallway from incoming enemies. You get boosts and power-ups here and there to let loose. It's fun.

[Morris Schæffer]

Heard of My Friend Pedro? Might be up your alley. I finished Far Cry 5. Great game, some shite bugs near the end and dissapointing finale. Wanted to start Division 2, but brother’s got it so started Horizon Zero Dawn. Still also doing half life 2, near the end there.

[Morris Schæffer]

So in let them come you’re always stuck in one spot?! How is that fun or challenging?

[Dukefrukem]

So in let them come you’re always stuck in one spot?! How is that fun or challenging?

The higher the level you reach, the newer and more difficult the enemies appear to prepare you for a giant boss battle.

That means you need to continue to upgrade your weapons or change weapon type fit the enemy type. You have the option to do this every time you die or beat a boss.

From the gif I posted above, the more points you get (top right corner) you can use them to spend on weapon, armor or special upgrades.

It's fun and challenging.

[Morris Schæffer]

The higher the level you reach, the newer and more difficult the enemies appear to prepare you for a giant boss battle.

That means you need to continue to upgrade your weapons or change weapon type fit the enemy type. You have the option to do this every time you die or beat a boss.

From the gif I posted above, the more points you get (top right corner) you can use them to spend on weapon, armor or special upgrades.

It's fun and challenging.

Well, I guess the corridor seems so narrow that I assumed all you do is press the fire button, not move around, not aim your gun.

[Dukefrukem]

Well, I guess the corridor seems so narrow that I assumed all you do is press the fire button, not move around, not aim your gun.

Some enemies crawl on the walls, some crawl on the ceiling, some are invisible up until a few feet from you, some spit acid at you, some have shields... so no.

[[ETM]]

Alien: Isolation is 95% off on Steam today, and all the DLCs are 75% off.

[Dukefrukem]

Like we'll ever see that game

June 19th

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[Ezee E]

June 19th

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of this year

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A BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR ME!

[Idioteque Stalker]

So I've been playing a LOT of Doom II

I bought this and the Doom 1 a few weeks back and played some of Doom 1. It felt really strange at first to only be able to pan, but not tilt, the camera/gun. "How am I supposed to get those demons up there?" Then I realized you just point in a direction and the bullets go where they're supposed to go in terms of elevation. One really takes for granted the journey games have taken to get to where they are today.

[Idioteque Stalker]

I hooked my PC back up after a year of inactivity to purchase XCOM: Chimera Squad for $10. It's just so fucking good. The price is unreal. Next to the stimulus it feels like the most charity I've received during the pandemic. The squad members are very cookie-cutter in terms of writing and voice acting, which doesn't help the pain of not being able to customize them, but the devs really do make them all really unique. Every character has its own upgrade tree/specialty so that they feel like completely different classes. You may not be able to run a squad of grenadiers into battle like you can in the mainline games, but the flip side is there's what feels like 12 classes rather than 4 or 5.

The coolest new thing is the breach phase. At least once a mission, but usually two or three times, you have a moment to plan how you're going to enter a room SWAT style. You may not know what's in the room, but you know what each team member is good at, and you make your choices, then bust in and see what's up. It's always a thrilling moment, and when your strategy pays off it feels fantastic. It also means there's never those frustrating XCOM moments where you're looking for the next mob ("Quiet! I think I hear something over there!"). Don't know if you can increase squad size from four. Haven't been able to yet. Tactical difficulty seems higher than strategic difficulty at this point. I'm starting to feel really outnumbered in most encounters, but I am doing my first playthrough on the equivalent of classic ironman, which is always a doozy.

It may not end up being game of the year, but for strategy fans I can't imagine a game more easy to recommend.

[Irish]

I hooked my PC back up after a year of inactivity

Hmmmm .. traitor or ally?

[Morris Schæffer]

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has been announced.

[bac0n]

If it takes place in a Mad Max world, I am IN.

[Dukefrukem]

If it takes place in a Mad Max world, I am IN.

Looks like it's Vikings.

[Morris Schæffer]

If it takes place in a Mad Max world, I am IN.

Would have been nice. But alas no