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Author Topic: What are you playing?  (Read 75638 times)

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: What are you playing? NOW STREAMING 2019!
« Reply #50 on: January 23, 2019, 08:52:21 AM »
I want to play this badly, but the idea of spending $40 on a version of Tetris just makes me balk. Maybe when a sale comes...

Solid Blake

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Re: What are you playing? NOW STREAMING 2019!
« Reply #51 on: January 24, 2019, 07:33:19 AM »
9. Battlefield V, developed by EA DICE, played on the Xbox One X for 100 hours. I love Battlefield games. I've played pretty much every iteration since Battlefield 1942. When I heard that they were finally going back to WWII, I was excited--then I found out it would only feature the British/German forces, and focus on lesser-known/covered historical battles. Part of me really wanted to be shooting a M1 Garand, but I got over that pretty quick when I realized that these are the best Battlefield maps that DICE has ever crafted, and the squad-system really refreshes the series in new and exciting ways. Being able to revive your squad-mates, really emphasizes on playing close to your squad and discourages lone wolves. They also, controversially, nerf'd tanks/planes quite a bit and allows a more even playing field--I can typically take out a Tiger with two well placed Panzerfaust shots. The shooting feels great, per usual, and the sound design when pulling off head shots is just so oddly satisfying. Above all, I get a visceral adrenaline surge when playing this game that I almost never get out of any other first person shooter. Rushing a point with your team, as medics pop smoke grenades and the sounds of bullets whizzing over-head, only to be drowned out by an approaching Stuka--all of these things can't be replicated even in the most highly produced single player experiences (oh, they have a somewhat mediocre single player campaign if that's your thing). DICE has done a great job supporting this game post-launch and they have a lot of things coming down the pipeline (new maps, modes, weapons, a Battle Royale mode, etc.), and I'm really glad they went the non-Premium pass route. The microtransactions feel buried in the menus and out of sight, it's almost as if EA PR actually learned a lesson from the Star Wars: Battlefront II debacle. It's just a shame that everyone hates this publisher and that this game has had an uphill battle since its announcement, but I think the final product speaks for itself (P.S. the launch went surprisingly well and I've had no system crash/server errors that I get from a lot of games today). Oh, did I mention that the Frostbite engine is stunningly gorgeous?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur1JVAUpsNk

FLYmeatwad

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Re: What are you playing? NOW STREAMING 2019!
« Reply #52 on: January 24, 2019, 07:24:34 PM »
Tetris has been sitting in my PS4 for a month waiting for me to hook up that VR again, and also because I'm finishing up your number one.

Also, new LiS episode!

Solid Blake

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Re: What are you playing? NOW STREAMING 2019!
« Reply #53 on: January 25, 2019, 05:12:56 AM »
Also, new LiS episode!

Yup! I've got that, Resident Evil 2 and the Anthem beta waiting for me at home. Too bad I won't have much time to spend on them this weekend, but I'm off all week next week--so lots of gaming in store!!

Solid Blake

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Re: What are you playing? NOW STREAMING 2019!
« Reply #54 on: January 25, 2019, 11:40:22 AM »
8. Dead Cells, developed by Motion Twin, played on the Xbox One X for approximately 40 hours. I will try my hardest to not use the terms "rogue-like" or "metroidvania" OH WAIT I JUST DID DANG IT ALL TO HECK. I thought I was over 2D platformers. They just don't do much for me anymore. I've been playing them since the original Super Mario Bros. and I'm pretty sure it's just fatigue at this point. Thankfully, a couple of games came out this year and reinvigorated my love for the 2D genre, with Dead Cells being one of them. This game hinges on one thing and one thing only: the feel. This game just feels so damn good. The graphics, sound design, and score aren't really noteworthy. Neither is the concept or story. On paper, this is just another Rogue-Legacy-like-like that I would have overlooked, it weren't for how good the game feels to play. Whether you're jumping over enemies to lay down traps, or rolling away from viscous enemy attacks--Dead Cells feels like butter in your hands. Actually, that sounds gross. It feels better than that. I still haven't even beaten the damn game and I don't really care, as I feel like I'm always making some progress towards unlocking an item or passive ability. This is also the perfect podcast game. It also was my go-to when I was killed early in a Battle Royale game and would have to wait 30+ minutes for my buddies to win/die. Oh, and I know you care, so my perfect load out is: Blood Sword, Infantry Bow, Wolf Trap and Sinew Slicer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvGaSPTcTxc
« Last Edit: January 26, 2019, 08:58:41 AM by Solid Blake »

FLYmeatwad

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Re: What are you playing? NOW STREAMING 2019!
« Reply #55 on: January 26, 2019, 12:42:46 AM »
Also, new LiS episode!

Yup! I've got that, Resident Evil 2 and the Anthem beta waiting for me at home. Too bad I won't have much time to spend on them this weekend, but I'm off all week next week--so lots of gaming in store!!

Just in time to wield the keyblade.

Solid Blake

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Re: What are you playing? NOW STREAMING 2019!
« Reply #56 on: January 26, 2019, 07:27:09 AM »
Do what now with the what what?  ;)

I doubt I'll ever get into a Kingdom Hearts game--I never had a strong love for most Disney properties, and the whole anime-ass story looks to be completely not my thing. I hope it's good though, as it sounds like a lot of people have been waiting a long time for this game.

In more depressing news, the HDR10 implementation in Resident Evil 2 is completely broken. The darkest settings still has the black levels in a washed-out gray-scale uniformity, even on my inky-black OLED screen. It was so distracting, I had to turn off the HDR10 settings on my Xbox One X and it seems like the SDR version delivers those deeper black levels (something I want when playing a dark survivor horror game). I don't remember this being a problem with the HDR implementation of Resident Evil VII, so I'm hoping it's something they can fix sooner than later, though I only saw a few articles calling it out and even one ARSTechnica article oddly calling it "bonkers good."

HDR is a fickle beast, it seems. Some people said it wasn't implemented well in Red Dead Redemption II, but it looks drastically better in HDR on my set after comparing the two modes in several different game locations/times of day. It's just a pain in the ass to have to turn off HDR10 at the system level to play a select game or two, versus having it be an in-game visual option. Hopefully HDR10 will just become the new standard and all these hiccups will be a thing of the past?

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: What are you playing? NOW STREAMING 2019!
« Reply #57 on: January 26, 2019, 08:46:35 AM »
Debating if I want to get Resident Evil 2 now when I'm not really sure I'll get to it for a while or wait until a price drop later in the year.

Now that it's officially out, I got Slay the Spire and this is a fantastic roguelike so far. I'm a big fan of the board game genre deckbuilding this video game is built off of and it taps into a lot of those great feelings of building your own little combo machine and then going off in super satisfying ways. Someone called it a near perfect game alongside such titles as Into the Breach and Spelunky and while I'm only a few hours in, I could see myself feeling that way about it although we'll see if it sucks away 100+ hours like those other games did.

Solid Blake

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Re: What are you playing? NOW STREAMING 2019!
« Reply #58 on: January 26, 2019, 08:58:06 AM »
7. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden, developed by The Bearded Ladies, played on the Xbox One X for approximately 16 hours. This game came out of nowhere late in the year and, yes, it came to Game Pass. I heard it was like "XCOM meets Metal Gear Solid" and I love both of those games... So guess what? I love this game. This game is brutally difficult. I played it on hard, and the enemies can kill your whole team with one bad turn. Thankfully, I got really good at equipping my team with stealth weapons, with fully upgraded stealth perks and upgraded weaponry/throwables. I could typically plan out a sneak attack on a lone scout; however, the shit can hit the fan and surviving these scenarios can leave one's heart pumping--which is incredible considering the slower turn-based nature of the game. I also loved exploring the post-apocalyptic Swedish setting, searching for relics and other upgrade items scattered around. The writing is pretty good and Dux, Bormin, and Farrow are full of personality and flesh out the world to make it feel more believable. The Blade Runner-esque score and overall presentation really clicked and made this something truly special. I also enjoyed going back to the Ark (a hub-like homebase) to listen to the elder ramble on about nothing and upgrade/purchase items. My only complaint is that the game is pretty short and left me wanting more--so hopefully we'll see more Mutant Year Zero games in the future (it is based off a relatively popular pen/paper role-playing board game.) If XCOM, Mario & Rabbids, Wasteland 2, etc. are your types of game, I highly recommend checking out this relatively lesser known gem.

https://youtu.be/iRKM1W0HIIo

Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: What are you playing? NOW STREAMING 2019!
« Reply #59 on: January 26, 2019, 09:10:57 AM »
This is one I know I need to get to. Both the setting and gameplay are pure me. 

 

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