Video Games Randomness - Prioritize specific game threads!

[Daehawk]

Yep right on that. Got the right one on the way.

EDIT: Top of the page mystery post.

[hitbyambulance]

hopefully you didn't pay extra for USB 3.x - 2.x is all that's needed for a controller

[Daehawk]

Nah just a few bucks and its 2.0

[dbt1949]

I watch a lot of YouTube videos on how to play games. It seems like most of the YouTubers have only a minimum amount of time in the game. No more than 2-3 hours or less and declare themselves "experts". They slowly plod along making numerous mistakes as they learn the game.
I wish these guys would limit themselves to games they are familiar with. It's a lot of fun watching guys play when they know what they are doing. But these guys trying to show me how to play my new game when know little more than me is annoying.

[Daehawk]

You need to stop making videos and watching them. You'll never get anywhere that way.

[Blackhawk]

I look at those as more of a gameplay overview than a tutorial.

[Daehawk]

I cant afford Everspace 2 so over the Black Friday weekend I grabbed Starpoint Gemini 3 really cheap. I thought the first couple showed some promise but didn't get grabbed by them. This one Im just starting out in but it seems fun. has a story i can follow at least. Its a bit cheesy but Im rolling with it.

It controls like Freelancer did with mouse and keyboard but Im having trouble turning the mouse sensitivity down low enough. its very fast movement, Also seem to be keys scattered all over the keyboard. May need to rebind a lot of those if I can find them.

Doesn't look as good visually as the pics and videos Ive seen .Will look into that as well.

[Skinypupy]

For a world so rich and steeped in cool lore and worldbuilding, it always amazes me how utterly dull and bland so many of the Warhammer games are.

I picked up Warhammer: Chaosbane because it was $7.00 on PS4. For the first couple hours, it's Diablo-esque dark fantasy aesthetic is very cool. But you quickly come to realize that the quests and story are incredibly boring, with laughable dialog that sounds like it was read by some poor sap they dragged in off the street. So far I've only seen 6 different types of mobs, fighting them through only three different environments (sewer, graveyard, and castle). I'm maybe 3 hours in and already bored.

And the worst part is that there are really only three different types of loot you can get. The extent of loot collecting ends up being: 1. Open the inventory every 5 minutes or so, 2. See what you've picked up in a particular category (i.e. armor, gloves, pants, etc.), and 3. Equipping the one with the most green numbers. That's it. There's no real aesthetic change to speak of, nothing has cool names or any real indicators of what special abilities they have, look just ends up as an uninteresting "number go up" slog.

I get that story isn't typically a big deal in ARPG's, but getting interesting loot, fighting interesting mobs and bosses with cool skills, and at least feeling somewhat connected to the world is what makes or breaks these games. Both of the Warhammer ARPG's I've played (this one and Inquisitor) have been simply dull, boring slogs with nothing interesting at all about them. It's so crazy to me that they couldn't manage to do something interesting with such a cool world and premise.

Then again, I've been saying the same about D&D games since NWN2, so...

[Daehawk]

Jeez I started up Anno 1404 just to see what it looked like. I played for an hour before I could quit.

As for Warhammer games....they sold their souls to licenses years ago.

[Jaddison]

For a world so rich and steeped in cool lore and worldbuilding, it always amazes me how utterly dull and bland so many of the Warhammer games are.

I picked up Warhammer: Chaosbane because it was $7.00 on PS4. For the first couple hours, it's Diablo-esque dark fantasy aesthetic is very cool. But you quickly come to realize that the quests and story are incredibly boring, with laughable dialog that sounds like it was read by some poor sap they dragged in off the street. So far I've only seen 6 different types of mobs, fighting them through only three different environments (sewer, graveyard, and castle). I'm maybe 3 hours in and already bored.

And the worst part is that there are really only three different types of loot you can get. The extent of loot collecting ends up being: 1. Open the inventory every 5 minutes or so, 2. See what you've picked up in a particular category (i.e. armor, gloves, pants, etc.), and 3. Equipping the one with the most green numbers. That's it. There's no real aesthetic change to speak of, nothing has cool names or any real indicators of what special abilities they have, look just ends up as an uninteresting "number go up" slog.

I get that story isn't typically a big deal in ARPG's, but getting interesting loot, fighting interesting mobs and bosses with cool skills, and at least feeling somewhat connected to the world is what makes or breaks these games. Both of the Warhammer ARPG's I've played (this one and Inquisitor) have been simply dull, boring slogs with nothing interesting at all about them. It's so crazy to me that they couldn't manage to do something interesting with such a cool world and premise.

Then again, I've been saying the same about D&D games since NWN2, so...

Try out Necromunda, it is an interesting and fairly challenging experience.

[Blackhawk]

For a world so rich and steeped in cool lore and worldbuilding, it always amazes me how utterly dull and bland so many of the Warhammer games are.

For the longest time, Games Workshop was really, really picky with their licensing. You had to have a top-notch proposal for them to even consider it. A few years ago they switched gears. They gave a Warhammer license to anyone and everyone. I think they figured that if they put out two or three hundred games, they'd get enough hits to gain some profit and brand recognition. The result was a huge number of mediocre (or bad) games for every good one.

[Skinypupy]

For a world so rich and steeped in cool lore and worldbuilding, it always amazes me how utterly dull and bland so many of the Warhammer games are.

For the longest time, Games Workshop was really, really picky with their licensing. You had to have a top-notch proposal for them to even consider it. A few years ago they switched gears. They gave a Warhammer license to anyone and everyone. I think they figured that if they put out two or three hundred games, they'd get enough hits to gain some profit and brand recognition. The result was a huge number of mediocre (or bad) games for every good one.

Definitely seems that they're doing themselves a disservice in this regard. I'm not a big Warhammer guy, but have checked out a few of their games here and there because they look kinda interesting. The last few I've played have been so incredibly dull and boring that I'm unlikely to look at any others.

I've heard the RTA and squad-based shooters are pretty good, but those are two genres I have no interest in. So I guess I'll just pass on Warhammer stuff entirely for a while.

[Kasey Chang]

Vermintide and Chaosbane are basically Left4Dead in Warhammer fantasy-verse. Tried a few games in Vermintide, was not impressed.

I gave pretty harsh reviews to Flight Commander.

Dakka Squadron could be kinda fun if it feels less like you vs. the world.

I agree that most Warhammer 40K games are boring, even the "decent" ones.

[Skinypupy]

Vermintide and Chaosbane are basically Left4Dead in Warhammer fantasy-verse. Tried a few games in Vermintide, was not impressed.

Chaosbane is "Warhammer Diablo" not L4D.

[hitbyambulance]

this might make you feel better about your gaming backlog: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/river

[jztemple2]

this might make you feel better about your gaming backlog: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/river

There was an article a couple of years ago written by the friend of some famous South American writer (whose name I can't recall, sorry) who had passed away recently. The friend was focusing on the famous writer's personal library. It contained thirty thousand books. The friend explained that the writer most likely didn't read or was ever going to read all those books. The point was that the writer was always interested in reading something new, learning something new, experiencing something new. Having a lot of books just opened up the possibilities of what to read next.

You can think of your game library as something like the writer's book collection. It's not that you plan to play every one. Instead, it means that when you get the urge to trying something different, you can just browse through your collection to see what might pique you interest.

It's the theory I use to justify my continuous acquisition of books for my personal library. At least that's what I tell my wife

[JetFred]

Yes, for the love of all worth loving, YES.

[Blackhawk]

Absolutely. It's the same thing I've said in the arguments discussions about claiming free games. I have a massive pile of games, and the fact that I haven't finished or won't them all isn't important to me. I'm not creating a 'backlog'. A backlog is an assignment, it's turning a hobby into a directed task. It's turning fun and relaxation into something that needs to be 'finished' rather than enjoyed. Screw that!

My collection is a library full of choices. It's a restaurant - I don't have to eat every single thing on the menu one time to appreciate that there are a huge range of choices on it. And the bigger it is, the greater the likelihood that when I really get the urge for a certain type of game, I'll have something. The greater the chances that if I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for, something will be there that will inspire interest.

I haven't spent the last couple of decades building a backlog or a project with a deadline, I've spent that time building a library full of options to choose from.

[Skinypupy]

So, a quick mini-review on the Legends Arcade machines, now that I've had both set up for a couple weeks.

The Legends Arcade Cabinet is absolutely fantastic. It's the perfect height, the buttons, joystick, spinner, and trackball are all very responsive, and the sound is great. The included games are kinda underwhelming, but the ability to add ROMs via CoinOpsX makes all the difference. I'm SO glad I went with this instead of one of the Arcade 1Up machines, as most of those only have around 10-12 games installed and are about the same price. The only issue I've had is that the speed of the spinner is too slow (even on max settings), making games like Araknoid or Tempest nearly impossible to play.

The Legends Pinball machine is more of a mixed bag, tbh. The machine itself is pretty great. The displays are bright and clear, the buttons are responsive, there's no input lag, the sound is solid, the tilt functionality works well, and the menus are easy to navigate. Getting it set up was a bit of a bugger, as I had to reseat all the cables (there were some lines across the display due to loose connections) and make some significant tweaks to the settings (the haptic feedback audio from the buttons was causing the entire system to rattle). Took a couple hours, but it's working fine now that I've done all the troubleshooting.

My main issue is that this machine focuses primarily on very old-school tables (70's, 80's and early 90's) from Gottlieb and Zaccaria. I'm not necessarily against older tables (I absolutely love me some Black Knight, Attack From Mars, Theater of Magic, etc), but the 12 tables included on this machine are just...boring. There's really only 2-3 that I'm likely to ever actually play regularly, and am perfectly fine never touching most of them again. They do offer additional downloadable Zaccaria and Taito tables, but most of those are also very old-school as well and none of them look particularly interesting. Plus, they're quite expensive (table expansion packs are between $25-50).

Fans of old-school pinball games will probably be in heaven with this machine. Unfortunately, I'm not really one of those. I'll probably need to figure out how to get a Pinball FX3 emulator hooked up before it gets much use at my house. That requires a separate PC (that has the graphics capability to run Pinball FX3) connected via the HDMI port, plus a ton of tweaking via mods and third party add-ons to get it working. I don't exactly have a spare gaming PC lying around right now, so it'll likely be a long while until that happens. In retrospect, I wish I would have just picked up the Arcade 1Up Star Wars or Attack from Mars tables instead of this one (for the same price). At least I know that I like the tables included on those machines. I expected that I would probably end up spending more time with the pinball machine than the arcade cab, but it looks like it'll end up being the other way around for the time being.

Both machines are still under blankets in the back of the storage room until Christmas, and I'm only able to sneak in an play them after all the kids are in bed. Can't wait to see how they react on Christmas morning. Little B 12.8 was talking yesterday about how one of her friends had an arcade cabinet in their basement and they all had SO much fun playing it.

[Skinypupy]

One of the kids brought home this giant Marvel encyclopedia from the school library on Friday. We spent a few hours on Friday night flipping through it, talking about the characters, and finding people and places we hadn't heard of before. It got me thinking, "You know, it's been ages since I've played a fun superhero game", so I started searching out some options. Landed on Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 for Switch.

I didn't expect much out of it, as I'd tried the two previous MUA games and came away mostly unimpressed. Interesting ideas, but the execution was just kinda boring. This one, however, has been an absolute blast, especially in co-op. Little B 12.9 and I just got the third Infinity Stone, and we're having so much fun putting together teams of random heroes and causing general chaos. The hack-n-slash gameplay is pretty basic, but combining special abilities and attacks in screen filling explosions of fire, energy rays, webs, and flying objects brings a smile every time. It's a little too difficult for the Wonder Twins 8.6, but they're still plugging away at it.

I'm generally not much for co-op games, but this one has been a fantastic surprise. Being able to play with the kids has been an incredibly fun bonus that I didn't really expect.

Any time your almost teen daughter is begging to play a game with her dad, I call that a win.

[Max Peck]

I could not be less shocked to see that Peter Molyneux is going to try to cash in on NFTs. Because of course he is.

Peter Molyneux's next game is 'play-to-earn' and all-in on NFTs

You either die a hero, or live long enough to become a blockchain evangelist. Peter Molyneux, once a driving force in great studios like Bullfrog and Lionhead, has announced his studio 22Cans' next project, Legacy, will incorporate blockchain technology and NFTs.

Legacy is a business sim where you build products in factories and construct a town around your chosen industry. Think Sim City on a more granular scale. Anyone who's played Godus will know it would be wise to keep expectations in check, and ignore the wilder promises that Legacy comes with: Including, thanks to the blockchain of course, the suggestion you'll be "earning real money from your gameplay."

I'm going to put that in the same bracket as the suggestion that the winner of Curiosity would become a god (spoiler alert: he did not).

[Skinypupy]

(spoiler alert: he did not).

[/quote]

What a weird and fascinating story...which is completely on-brand for Peter Molyneux.

[Pyperkub]

Old school gaming randomness nits.

I recently dove back into the OG xBox Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it has been a lot of fun, especially all the quips and voices, with some solid action/fighter/slayer gameplay, but it does remind of one MASSIVE pet peeve of mine.

Insta-Death jumping puzzles in games with limited save checkpoints. Buffy only has saves when you clear a level, which means every single insta-death fall means starting the whole damn level over again.

One level had a particularly hard fight in an enclosed space against teleporting demons launching Buffy-seeking fireballs just a few steps from the end of the level, and once I finally beat them and was running to the exit, there was a completely unmarked, insta-death trapdoor right as you were running for the level end (though there was a rail for shimmying across where the trap doors were, not immediately viewable as it was hidden by the archway Buffy runs through).

[Isgrimnur]

Insta-Death jumping puzzles in games with limited save checkpoints. Buffy only has saves when you clear a level, which means every single insta-death fall means starting the whole damn level over again.

waves from Bionic Commando (2009)

[Skinypupy]

One of the only times I have ever actually thrown a controller was playing Tenchu 2 on PS1.

Similar to you, I spent a couple hours methodically sneaking and assassinating my way through this giant cave. Exit was in sight, just around a bend in the hallway. There was a pit that was impossible to see right as you came around the bend and my poor ninja snuffed it.

I actually took the disc out and never went back to the game because I was so mad about it.

[Pyperkub]

Insta-Death jumping puzzles in games with limited save checkpoints. Buffy only has saves when you clear a level, which means every single insta-death fall means starting the whole damn level over again.

waves from Bionic Commando (2009)

My favorite game at dealing with this was Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (and sequels). Having a slight, depleteable time rewind for these things is perfect, and in the context of the Prince of Persia narrative style, where the "that's not how it happened" voice over would pop up was awesome.

[jztemple2]

Fun article: 18 classic PC games you still can't get digitally

One of the great strengths of PC gaming is a back catalogue that spans decades. Companies like Nintendo emulate older games on their modern consoles, but that can't compare to the thousands and thousands of games you can track down from the history of the PC. But not every banger that's ever dropped on DOS or Windows is so easy to find. Some of the all-time greats still aren't available digitally even now, and your only legal way to play them is to hunt for a boxed copy on Ebay and hope it plays well with modern Windows.

The list of those missing classics is growing shorter due to stores like GOG and developers like Nightdive dredging up as many relics from the muck of abandonware as they can. But the list is still longer than it should be, so we asked Nightdive what the odds are that the games below can get the digital re-releases they deserve.

Here are 18 of the games we most want to see available again, ideally with support for higher resolutions and smooth compatibility with today's PCs.

[Blackhawk]

My top two choices are on that list: NOLF and AvP2 (plus NOLF 2, of course.)

[jztemple2]

My top two choices are on that list: NOLF and AvP2 (plus NOLF 2, of course.)

I really enjoyed "The Movies", although I usually opted out of the tycoon part of the game and just made movies instead.

[Blackhawk]

I made a couple, but got bored with the limitations pretty quickly.

[Pyperkub]

My top two choices are on that list: NOLF and AvP2 (plus NOLF 2, of course.)

Have you tried Aliens: Fireteam yet?

I saw it's on gamepass now (xbox at least, not sure about PC yet) and will probably give it a shot.

[Blackhawk]

My top two choices are on that list: NOLF and AvP2 (plus NOLF 2, of course.)

Have you tried Aliens: Fireteam yet?

I saw it's on gamepass now (xbox at least, not sure about PC yet) and will probably give it a shot.

Possibly.

Aside from theming, it's more Left4Dead than it is AvP2, though.

[Daehawk]

I own NOLF 1 & 2 and finished maybe 4 times each. Last time I tried was about 2 years ago and they just did not hold up for some reason. I didn't finish either of them. Suddenly they were just out of date it seemed. Ive never laughed so hard at a game in my life as the part where you and the Scotsman are on the tricycle peddling around shooting bad guys while he smarts off at the mouth. Bout cried tears.

You can get the first Aliens versus Predator Classic 2000 on Good Old Games. But not 2 ya. Just buy them both off ebay. They both still run Ive played them. Been at least 4 years though for AvP2.

[Blackhawk]

Ive never laughed so hard at a game in my life as the part where you and the Scotsman are on the tricycle peddling around shooting bad guys while he smarts off at the mouth.

Not just bad guys - mimes. While chasing down their leader, a little person mime on a unicycle.

You can get the first Aliens versus Predator Classic 2000 on Good Old Games. But not 2 ya. Just buy them both off ebay. They both still run Ive played them. Been at least 4 years though for AvP2.

I have AvP Classic, but I never really liked it. AvP2 was one of my favorite shooters. In the early 2000s, both Monolith and Raven could do no wrong.

[Pyperkub]

My top two choices are on that list: NOLF and AvP2 (plus NOLF 2, of course.)

Have you tried Aliens: Fireteam yet?

I saw it's on gamepass now (xbox at least, not sure about PC yet) and will probably give it a shot.

Possibly.

Aside from theming, it's more Left4Dead than it is AvP2, though.

That actually sounds fun! L4D with Aliens? cool. Assuming you all are on PC tho, correct? WFH has crippled PC gaming for me - I need the couch instead of the office...

[Anonymous Bosch]

My top two choices are on that list: NOLF and AvP2 (plus NOLF 2, of course.)

FWIW, you can still replay the NOLF game series courtesy of sites like nolfrevival.tk and UnityHQ.net (which also provides various useful update mods and the like).

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, I've fiddled with them before. There's also an AvP2 version around somewhere.

[Pyperkub]

My top two choices are on that list: NOLF and AvP2 (plus NOLF 2, of course.)

FWIW, you can still replay the NOLF game series courtesy of sites like nolfrevival.tk and UnityHQ.net (which also provides various useful update mods and the like).

Pretty sure I still have the discs for NOLF 1 & 2. Never actually finished NOLF 1, though I had a blast while playing it. As I recall, I got stuck in some Mountain Valley/Wilderness gunfight and didn't pick it up again.

[Daehawk]

Well its a rainy weekend and Im stuck at home so figured Id get buzzed up. Then I noticed I was collecting the free games from Ubisoft and had Rayman Origins installed. All I know is its a console game but clicked to fire it up.

WOW! I have no idea what Im doing but Im using my controller on PC and the game plays in ultrawidescreeen and the music is a Jew's harp twangin out a great sound. Lol. Its wild. Seems this came out in 2011. Quite a time waster...and fun. Good production values too.

[Skinypupy]

After claiming Neon Abyss today, I have 93 games in my Epic Store library.

I've purchased one game from them for a grand total of $15.