Videogame Discussion Thread

Was playing Mutant Year Zero previous weekend. Really nice atmospheric turn-based tactical game, quite similar to x-com.



https://store.steampowered.com/app/760060/Mutant_Year_Zero_Road_to_Eden/

It's not as deep or as long as the x-com games but what there is feels nicely put together and with a pretty atmospheric and distinct art style. I think I finished it in something like 20-25h and tbh the ending came a little bit abruptly, but it was a lot of fun up until that point. I think maybe it's a little overpriced for what you get at full price but I had a lot of fun with it and it felt like a pretty unique experience, so maybe that makes it worth it. If you're an x-com fan wanting to scratch that itch I think you'll enjoy it even a full price. Or if you wait for a sale I think it's well worth $20-25. Also anyone who enjoys unique games with distinct personalities should like this.

 

Keyboard & Mouse. I play on a 43" 4K TV - quite the immersive experience!

For me, this was the best game in the Metro series. Not perfect, and it had its share of bugs - but it was a ton of fun and I'm looking forward to New Game +.

 

Yup, far more fun than Anthem.

 

WTF is wrong with modern big corp titles? The average user score on Metacritic is something 4 points out of 10. Are the standards lowering every year??! The people who actually play the cames are the least of their concerns it seems. There are some pearls in the field of s*** every year like Insurgency Sandstorm and similar from smaller studios.

 

When Fallout 76 can be released and be considered a viable big corp release, then yes... the industry has gone to shit.

 

People who pre-order and don't wait and see if the game is any good is also part of the problem IMHO. In the case of a lot of Bethesda products it seems that a lot of people rush out and pre-order based on hype and expectations alone. This doesn't exactly encourage big games studios to make great games, rather it encourages them to churn out generic trash as fast as possible to see what they can get away with. Then they put a huge marketing and hype cycle behind it, and with a big name title chances are they'll make bank no matter what. Over time you'll erode your brand and customer base, but hey.. if you can be the CEO that increased profits by 10% who cares right?

TL;DR: Don't pre-order. Wait and see if the game is any good before buying.

I also do my best to support the game developers with what I consider fair practices such as CD Projekt, Obsidian, Larian Studios, Croteam, Ninja Theory, id to name a few. The recent BioWare with their DLC milking horseshit can go f**k themselves. For instance, as far as I'm aware BioWare still hasn't released a complete edition of Mass Effect 3 with everything included. You still have to buy the game and DLC separately and it's only available on origin. Meanwhile, for instance, Witcher 3 shipped as a massive complete experience, got free DLC, then got two massive expansions, and now you can buy it all for one super duper price with everything included. If you buy it on gog it doesn't even have DRM, you own the game full stop. How fair and upfront is that?

 

Any Resifemt Evil fan?

I am playing RE2 remake. Highly recommended. Capcom is going to town with RE series again. RE7 then this.

 

I'd gotten RE2 free as part of 3 games bundle with my Radeon VII purchase (still waiting for two other games to be released), I have installed it but have not quite gotten 'round to playing it yet.

 

@Jerry

I played the original RE2 and RE3 back in the day, I was relatively young at the time so me and my buddy were understandably scared shitless while playing them. Good times

I don't think I'll play the RE2 remake but if they remake RE3... oh lordy. Yeah, I might have to play that. I respect RE2 and it was groundbreaking for its time, but RE3 is my personal favorite.

 

@TwoEars

Give RE2 Remake a try, especially if you have played the original. In terms of storyline, RE3 is not as dynamic as RE2.

I started with RE1. Thats arguably the scariest RE since it was the first of its kind. I was playing with my cousin and he didnt even dare to hold the controller lol. I was playing and he was doing the shouting. Good times indeed.

Grqphics looked really good at its time. Looking back, cant believe how ugly it was. Btw, domt understand why they skipped RE1. It is a really good game and deserve a remake. It is the entrant to RE storyline.

RE series always hold a special place im my heatt. Miss those simpler days.

 

I'll just point out that the Metro series are developed in Ukraine. Same for Stalker. The gaming industry in Russia is very underdeveloped and these Eastern-European countries are far ahead. With that said there are at least three interesting indie projects coming from Russia. I hope they succeed.

The problem is that AAA titles are too big an investment to take risks. The same problem has been plaguing cinema and music for years. With that said, lately there has been comeback for big budget single player games.

I wonder if Anthem flopping will kill EA.

 

@Jerry

There was a Resident Evil Remaster (not remake) a couple of years back: https://store.steampowered.com/app/304240/Resident_Evil__biohazard_HD_REMASTER/

So that might be why they skipped it. I think I played Resident Evil 1 back in the day as well but honestly it's so long ago I'm not really 100% sure if did or if I started with RE2. I also played Silent Hill 1 and that was a proper wtf experience back in the day, the camera angles alone would have made Hitchcock shiver.

 

Haven’t played the RE2 remake but I loved the series on PS1/PS2/GC. Also Silent Hill, and other horror console games like Fatal Frame, Haunting Ground and Siren. Silent Hill 3 gets my vote for best horror game of all time.

@Jerry “Miss those simpler days.”

Yup. Wonder if there is enough interest for a retro game thread.

 

@Craigo

I'd probably just keep it all here? Kind of fun to mix old and new IMO. The way I think of this thread is basically "what gaming experiences have you had recently, anything goes", but that's me.

 

@TwoEars

Silent Hill was too scary for me Never got around that series.

 

I think smaller companies set gamers to "recovery" with open source/free engine based games. Peoples needs/wants are not met. They are playing games only for social activity. This makes sense as society has advanced significantly over 20 years ymmv. I am 27 years old, but I haven't played anything besides some BF and Dark Souls in the past 5 years. Most titles from the "used to be good" companies are garbage. Some of these big companies should be Rebuilt from the ground up...

Stories are weak, interaction and gameplay are getting dulled down. RPG should have story/plot in the Breaking Bad / novel level to make it interesting. But we have dumbed down cutscene to cutscene RPGs. No Baldurs gate/Neverwinter Nights1 level stories. Fps are getting dulled down often as well. I remember Quake 2 being quite complex back in 1999 something like that. Most FPS fail to beat Half-Life 2 and expansions in gameplay & story.

Bottom line. We need fresh starts in the video game industry. Projects/ideas that refresh the general vibe.

 

This is a double-edged topic... I think risking smartly is the meaning of entrepreneurship. New ideas get support or clients because they are new and worth the struggle/money/time.

 

New story-driven RPG's are out there. Divinity: Original Sin 1 & 2 and Pillars of Eternity 1 & 2 all have great storylines and gameplay. I prefer Divinity's combat mechanics over Pillars but both are great throwbacks to the Baldur's Gate style.

I'm hoping Bethesda doesn't f**k up TES:6 like they did FO:76. Skyrim and Fallout 3 are my all-time favorite single-player open world RPG's.