Video Games Randomness - Prioritize specific game threads!

[Max Peck]

It wasn't? My copy required Steam in order to get it installed, downloaded and activated.

The original release was in October 2008. The GotY edition was released in October 2009 and then put on Steam in December 2009.

[Max Peck]

[Rumpy]

It wasn't? My copy required Steam in order to get it installed, downloaded and activated.

The original release was in October 2008. The GotY edition was released in October 2009 and then put on Steam in December 2009.

Ok, I think I did get the GoTY edition. But I had never bought it via Steam. I bought a physical copy, which required having Steam.

[Daehawk]

The original Half Life released today....22 years ago.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Life_(video_game)

[Rumpy]

Heh, that reminds me. When the Orange box was released, it was also available on Consoles. I had a friend who liked Halo on XBox, and I had recommended him Half-Life, and I remember his reaction. "WTF is this shit?" He really didn't know what to think of it, and I don't think he ever completed it.

[Blackhawk]

Heh, that reminds me. When the Orange box was released, it was also available on Consoles. I had a friend who liked Halo on XBox, and I had recommended him Half-Life, and I remember his reaction. "WTF is this shit?" He really didn't know what to think of it, and I don't think he ever completed it.

You can't frag people and trash talk in Half-Life, dude! It's all like, just, picking up cans and stuff.

[Daehawk]

Heh, that reminds me. When the Orange box was released, it was also available on Consoles. I had a friend who liked Halo on XBox, and I had recommended him Half-Life, and I remember his reaction. "WTF is this shit?" He really didn't know what to think of it, and I don't think he ever completed it.

Strange as I loved HL but said WTF to Halo. I really really disliked Halo 1. Half a game where you play then at the half way point you simply play it all again backwards. But I warmed up to the world and story but never felt the games were special. I knew HL was. But even with HL I didn't think it was as great as others thought.

[hitbyambulance]

Heh, that reminds me. When the Orange box was released, it was also available on Consoles. I had a friend who liked Halo on XBox, and I had recommended him Half-Life, and I remember his reaction. "WTF is this shit?" He really didn't know what to think of it, and I don't think he ever completed it.

Strange as I loved HL but said WTF to Halo. I really really disliked Halo 1. Half a game where you play then at the half way point you simply play it all again backwards. But I warmed up to the world and story but never felt the games were special. I knew HL was. But even with HL I didn't think it was as great as others thought.

i never got to the halfway point.. got distracted by toooo much CTF. it got to the point where i had to give the disc to someone because i had stopped paying attention to classes. Halo multiplayer on PC is still my most favorite online experience, probably of all time (yes, even more than OO UT2k4 MP)

[Daehawk]

Even though Halo didn't impress me Halo 2 did. I actually own and finished every Halo except the last one..or two. I do love the universe.

[Rumpy]

Heh, that reminds me. When the Orange box was released, it was also available on Consoles. I had a friend who liked Halo on XBox, and I had recommended him Half-Life, and I remember his reaction. "WTF is this shit?" He really didn't know what to think of it, and I don't think he ever completed it.

Strange as I loved HL but said WTF to Halo. I really really disliked Halo 1. Half a game where you play then at the half way point you simply play it all again backwards. But I warmed up to the world and story but never felt the games were special. I knew HL was. But even with HL I didn't think it was as great as others thought.

I think it must have been the differences in PC and Console shooters. At that point, console FPS games were a very different kind of FPS compared to ones like HL where there was a bit more freedom.

[Blackhawk]

Halo: Combat Evolved wasn't a big deal because it was a good shooter. It wasn't that great of a game. It was a big deal that it was the first shooter that really got the console controls right. Enough so that pretty much all first person games since has used the model it established. It proved that you could put a shooter on a console and not have it feel out of place. The later games were much better (I especially enjoyed Reach.)

[Rumpy]

Yeah, exactly. That's what I mean essentially. Halo became popular, not because it was a good game, but because it was the first FPS to show that it could be done properly on consoles. People stuck with it because it was novel. I guess HL on consoles was too far ahead of its time for some to appreciate it on there. Was HL2 ever on consoles?

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, exactly. That's what I mean essentially. Halo became popular, not because it was a good game, but because it was the first FPS to show that it could be done properly on consoles. People stuck with it because it was novel. I guess HL on consoles was too far ahead of its time for some to appreciate it on there. Was HL2 ever on consoles?

I remember playing it on the 360.

[Blackhawk]

I restarted Pathfinder Kingmaker a few months ago. I've been having a lot of fun with it, but things got busy with Michelle and her new job, and I got distracted for a month or so. Now I'm finally getting back to it and... I'm hitting a wall. It's a really, really good game, but I just can't bring myself to talk to 30 NPCs and catch up on things with all of my companions and deal with all of the inventory. You know, RPG busy-work that you get comfortable with when you're playing, but serves as a barrier to getting back into it. I know the mood will strike me again, but I also know that if I put it back until then It'll be months and I won't be able to return to my in-progress game due to losing track of even more of what's going on. I'm more than halfway through the campaign, with all of the side content, companion quests, and kingdom building available so far done. I don't want to abandon all of that, but I don't really want to keep playing, either.

it's a problem I have frequently with long RPGs. If I step away, I can't get back in.

[coopasonic]

...and I think Blackhawk has convinced me to uninstall Kingmaker.

[Blackhawk]

...and I think Blackhawk has convinced me to uninstall Kingmaker.

[Rumpy]

Been playing Vampyr on PS4, and had been liking the game up until the boss fight at the end of Chapter 3. Shame, as I liked everything else about the game such as the setting and the 1918 Pandemic, but it's just been getting too difficult. Also, this may be the worst running PS4 game I've ever come across. Doesn't seem well optimized at all, with loading screens at odd moments, such as right before trying to speak to someone, and overall the game is just really tedious and the UI reminds me of the first Witcher in terms of how confusing it was to navigate, and some things like weapon switching just don't work at all. With loading taking up to 5 mins everytime you die, and given how often you die especially during boss fights, it's become just too frustrating to deal with.

[hitbyambulance]

i spent too much time reading about how there is, to this day, no solid verification of exactly when the NES version of Super Mario Bros. was released in the US

https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/ ... php?page=1

[Blackhawk]

Tonight, at Thanksgiving dinner.

My son and I were talking about how violently fun Doom Eternal is.

His grandmother asks, "What's so violent about derby turtles?"

[Sudy]

Lol.... I was going to ask if that's a thing, but then I googled it. What's next, kittens playing football?!

That reminds me of high school... I started wearing suits in my final year, and one of them was a pinstripe with big shoulder pads I stole from my dad. I was at my friend's house, and he told me, "Dude, you look like a mobster." His partially deaf mother asked, "Why did you say he looks like a lobster?!" It's been an inside joke ever since.

My own mother is partially deaf... but that doesn't explain why she once told my little sister she was "sitting like a drunk driver". She claims she said "truck driver", but we know what we heard. I'm also uncertain why her opinion of truckers is so low.

[Paradroid]

Paralysed by choice in the current Steam sale and haunted by my shameful backlog, I eventually just went for something cute that looked like I could play a little or a lot: Littlewood. As it transpires, it's addictive as hell. A more casual kind of Stardew Valley - in fact it's almost an idle clicker version - it's cute and charming and I can't stop playing. Everything you do makes money and earns XP. It's a game aimed squarely at the reward centre of the brain, but even being conscious of that, I don't care. I'm enjoying it.

[Kasey Chang]

I started playing Shapez.io and then I realized it's 4AM.

[Blackhawk]

So, recent Assassin's Creed. Start with Origins, or go straight to Odyssey?

[coopasonic]

I'd say whichever setting interests you more. If that didn't push you one way or the other, I would go with Odyssey if I were only going to play one of them (I'd take it over Valhalla as well, unless again the setting pulled you in).

[Hrothgar]

There's not a story reason to choose one over the other unless you're really into the modern day story. Still, I'd probably do Origins first. A couple of things are more refined in Odyssey that would make it harder to back to Origins. I probably wouldn't play them back to back either. That's a sure path for burnout.

[Kasey Chang]

Playing World War Zero. I seem to recall playing this before... was it under a different name? ...

Yep, same exact game called "Iron Storm". So I've officially bought the darn game TWICE.

[Daehawk]

Wife got me Odyssey and I played it straight for 4 days Loved it. I love that setting. Not played though in two years since she died. Still isntalled.

I just finished Origins. It was really great too. Lots of fun. Id say Origins then Odyssey.

[Kasey Chang]

The game apparently was on the PC as Iron Storm, ported to PS/2 with many game fixes and retitled World War Zero: Iron Storm, then backported to PC with the fixes as World War Zero.

Unfortunately, it's STILL got a pretty fatal bug... In the cutscene that ends the chemical factory mission, the idea is you got gassed when you try to make your way down to the bowels of the factory. However, somehow, the game just keeps KILLING me. And it's apparently a COMMON problem on modern machines, as it's widely reported, and the only way to get past this is to exploit a glitch. Enough for today.

[Blackhawk]

I remember Iron Storm. I played it for a review, and I don't remember it being a particularly positive review. It was a mess. When it worked right, it was dull and uninspired, and it didn't work right very often. Incredibly minor spoilers follow. (I may get some details wrong here - it's been 18 years) I remember one level where you had to battle your way through a mansion. You finally got the end (an office if I recall), so something or other, and then leave. The thing was that I couldn't figure out how to leave. I wandered that map for hours trying to figure out what I'd missed. Had I been playing for fun, I'd have abandoned it, but I was committed to a review (it was a review copy, not a personal purchase.) I finally found it. In that office, in the final room, was a door. You just opened the door and walked through it. The problem? The door was identical to every other door in the mansion, and not one of them was interactive. The doors you could go through were already open, and the closed doors were all just decorative. The developers trained the player to ignore those doors, then made one of them the exit.

[$iljanus]

So, recent Assassin's Creed. Start with Origins, or go straight to Odyssey?

I really enjoyed both. But if you want a “smaller” world perhaps start with Origins. It’s still plenty big though.

I also liked Beyek’s story quite a lot. The themes of loss,revenge,justice and love were well done instead of being a predictable retread. Also there’s something about the beauty of the desert in the game. Sometimes I’d just forgo fast travel and take a relaxing ride into the desert.

This doesn’t mean that Odyssey is a bad game. I own both but if you have to choose one...(get whichever game you didn’t choose on a good sale!)

[Blackhawk]

They both look fun. Odyssey appeals to me more due to my background with the subject matter (personal interest plus I studied both Greek mythology and ancient Greek (language) in college.) My plan right now is to play Origins first, and save Odyssey until after Christmas, as it seems like it might be a good one to try on the PS4 and the new TV.

[$iljanus]

They both look fun. Odyssey appeals to me more due to my background with the subject matter (personal interest plus I studied both Greek mythology and ancient Greek (language) in college.) My plan right now is to play Origins first, and save Odyssey until after Christmas, as it seems like it might be a good one to try on the PS4 and the new TV.

You really won’t go wrong with either choice and Odyssey is just gorgeous. Like riding in the desert, traveling the Aegean while listening to sea shanties is awesome! Sailing through storms and waves is so visceral and will look great on a new TV! And you’ll enjoy seeing all the temples and cities you’ve learned about in their original glory.

[Daehawk]

So Im playing Bioshock 2 and Im carrying around a Little Sister on my back to harvest Adam. I set this guy on fire and I hear her say "Ohhhh marshmellow!" lol.

[Kasey Chang]

I kept trying to post Steam game reviews, and Steam keeps blocking me.

Finally figured out a workaround. Post a one-paragraph review, THEN go back in and edit it to the proper length. if you start with a long review Steam often chokes and refuses to let you post it. But somehow a one-paragraph review will go through.

[JetFred]

That's weird. I write lots of long reviews and don't have that problem. Maybe I had it one random time, not sure.

[Daehawk]

I dont see me spoiling such an old old game now but in case dont read what Im going to type as its to do with the ending.
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I finished Bioshock 2 for the 3rd or so time. Im still not happy with the endings. The part where I die is the part I dont care for. Theres no point at all that should happen. In fact in the good ending I should live, remove that damn suit, and finish raising my daughter and the other little sisters to be good adults. Also dont see what she takes my DNA then simply tosses the glove/needle thing without using it..umm what?

[Brian]

So I've been playing an awful lot or Read Dead Redemption 2 lately on the PC (Played and completed it first on the XBox 1) and this time around I'm determined to complete all of the challenges, legendary animals, etc.

I was just up at the Van Horn Trading Company fishing by the lighthouse and trying to catch the Legendary Muskie.
There I am, slowly reeling in the lure and hoping for a bite when right next to me a fish leaps out of the water and lands next to me on the rocks lining the shore.
I complete reeling in the lure and take a look at what just landed practically at my feet and sure enough, it's the Legendary Muskie.

Well shit, that was easy.

[Daehawk]

I wasn't sure this went in YT videos since its more a gaming thing so Ill try it here. If it needs reposted in the other area let me know.

G4 is returning so heres a little video of the people of the past

[Max Peck]

Ubisoft's Immortals Fenyx Rising releases on Dec 3.

RPS: Immortals Fenyx Rising review

Immortals Fenyx Rising is the sort of name that you assume has a colon in it, even though it doesn’t. Apparently Ubi’s family-friendly mythical action-adventure had to change its name from Gods & Monsters after a challenge from Monster Energy, which is fair enough. After all, how many times have you tried to pour a refreshing energy drink into your mouth, only to discover you have inadvertently smashed part of the Ancient Greek pantheon of gods into your face instead?

Immortals still has much more in common with a slightly more budget Breath Of The Wild, or an Assassin’s Creed Odyssey made from Duplo, than it does the nation’s most Lynx Africa adjacent can. And since I like both of those games, and Immortals incorporates some of their best bits, I very much like Immortals. It could be the surprise sleeper hit of the year, in fact, and I’m hoping it is.

Immortals does start to feel a bit grindy, too, if you crush it up and mainline it too much in an evening. It’s a game to be played at leisure over the Christmas break, not shnarfed down as quickly as possible. And the further you go, the harder and more involved it gets, and the deeper the references to Greek mythology get, to the point that I started to wonder who this was aimed at. It didn’t feel like it was aimed at kids.

But then I thought, fuck it, I’m not a kid, and I really like this. Does every game “for” grown-ups need to have blood and rude swears? No. And by the same token, games for tweens don’t need to be patronising, and it’s not like if I had a 12-year-old kid I’d buy them Cyberpunk 2077 for their new console, because that’s not at all appropriate. Thank goodness there’s this, then: an imaginative, fun action game that has a nice story about family and personal growth at the heart of its epic adventure, and a good sense of humour, where you turn Aphrodite from a gracious tree back into a bitchy hot girl.

TL;DR: Breath Of The Child

It probably isn't a game that I'd rush out to purchase, but since I have an active Uplay+ subscription, it's preloaded and ready to go in the event that Empire of Sin really is being released in a half-baked condition. Not that I don't have enough games in play at the moment (ESO, The Division 2, Valhalla, Legion, Breakpoint and Warhammer 2 are all in the rotation at the moment).

[Blackhawk]

It looks a lot like Breath of the Wild. I just wish they hadn't kept the horrible haze that I disliked so much in BotW.