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Post by Hanimalle on May 21, 2024 8:41:42 GMT
Having watched and really enjoyed the Fallout TV Series made me want, and I know I was not alone in this, to play some Fallout. The tricky part was of course deciding which one. The multiplayer one was out of the question but that still left me with several possibilities. But then, as I always do, I ended up with Fallout: New Vegas.
Now several weeks have passed and I've been playing nothing else but I've once more finished the game, that is to say I've reached an ending though there are still plenty of side quests and several locations I did not explore. What's interesting however is that going through all four DLCs felt different for me this time, the one I used to love the most (Old World Blues) has been more frustrating than I remembered it, mostly because of the really bullet-spongy and dangerous enemies (Nightstalkers have become my character's sworn enemies) which not only means my armor kept getting shredded but also that I had used almost my whole supply of Stimpaks.
On the other hand, Dead Money, which used to be my least favorite, has been a much better experience this time around, probably because I waited until I had a high enough level to not have too much trouble with the Ghost people and simply avoid the holograms. The story parts, for some reason, hit me harder this time as well. As for the other two, Honest Hearts was still fairly average imo while Lonesome Roads once again provided my character with a satisfying conclusion to everything he had to experience previously as well as the certainty he was ready for the second battle of Hoover Dam.
And now I'm left with a somewhat paradoxical feeling, I'm both glad that I'm finished with F:NV (until next time that is) and that I get to try out new games but also sad because I once again had such a great time and I have no clue what other game could possibly provide me with the same emotions...
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Post by theguy on May 21, 2024 15:05:42 GMT
I don't know what's worse: That you bought it That you reviewed it Or that you had more to say about it than Resi 4!
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on May 21, 2024 18:19:49 GMT
Now several weeks have passed and I've been playing nothing else but I've once more finished the game, that is to say I've reached an ending though there are still plenty of side quests and several locations I did not explore. What's interesting however is that going through all four DLCs felt different for me this time, the one I used to love the most (Old World Blues) has been more frustrating than I remembered it, mostly because of the really bullet-spongy and dangerous enemies (Nightstalkers have become my character's sworn enemies) which not only means my armor kept getting shredded but also that I had used almost my whole supply of Stimpaks. I had a similar experience with the enemies in OWB on my playthrough. I'm not quite sure what the problem was, but I eventually just gave up on my guns and switched to some melee weapon I had found in the dlc. Misappropriated it really. I think it was some quest item with bonus damage against robotic enemies.
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Post by Hanimalle on May 22, 2024 19:21:49 GMT
Now several weeks have passed and I've been playing nothing else but I've once more finished the game, that is to say I've reached an ending though there are still plenty of side quests and several locations I did not explore. What's interesting however is that going through all four DLCs felt different for me this time, the one I used to love the most (Old World Blues) has been more frustrating than I remembered it, mostly because of the really bullet-spongy and dangerous enemies (Nightstalkers have become my character's sworn enemies) which not only means my armor kept getting shredded but also that I had used almost my whole supply of Stimpaks. I had a similar experience with the enemies in OWB on my playthrough. I'm not quite sure what the problem was, but I eventually just gave up on my guns and switched to some melee weapon I had found in the dlc. Misappropriated it really. I think it was some quest item with bonus damage against robotic enemies. Yeah guns are really not ideal in OWB, energy weapons are better (I mainly used the holorifle with all its upgrades I had acquired from Dead Money) against those annoying Nightstalkers and sometimes dangerous Lobotomites and there are indeed some great melee weapons such as the Protonic inversal axe which did wonders against robotic enemies.
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apollo
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Post by apollo on May 23, 2024 7:58:11 GMT
Hellblade 2
The graphics and sound are great, its amazing what the unreal 5 engine can do. Hopefully more games can look as good as this
I think its worth playing on gamepass once to experience. Its very much tech demo as push forward, a few puzzles (the runes one seems much easier than the first game, they solve themself once near the area pretty much) the combat is worse as the enemy uses a lot of fast attacks and unblockable ones. The parry can be a bit rubbish
Also its very short, its like 5 hours even if you take your time. Its a shame NT couldn't add more gameplay as it feels more of the same but much nicer graphics
5/10 or gamepass/10
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on May 23, 2024 16:29:41 GMT
I did finish Titan Quest - Anniversary Edition again. It has been a while, so it was somewhat fresh, but it's still a game that tends to drag its feet a bit much in places. Though it was only half a playthrough this time as a Juggernaut (Earth & Defensive Masteries) I did take up again, had already been at the end of Act II.
My resistances weren't much good so I started dying quite a bit towards the end of Act III where the difficulty starts to increase markedly. And melee characters were always more difficult in my experience. Balance is a bit odd though. There is this large area-of-effect life/mana-drain that some enemies and mini-bosses have that was really deadly and Vitality resistance doesn't seem to help that much. Same for Dactyls. There is a chance that one of those will show up in Hades' Palace towards the end of Act IV, but this time I had to kill three or four of them. Perhaps patches did something...
Not that I had any problems with Hades himself... I did remember him being more difficult, but this time around Typhon was way more difficult than I remember. Usually I just ran circles around him with a poisoned bow until he died when I was playing a melee build. This time I just couldn't make headway against his health regen or more likely his (undodgeable) health drain attack. In any case, it was interesting coming back to it. Perhaps I'll grab another one of the unfinished characters or start a new one.
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Post by richyroo on May 23, 2024 23:30:52 GMT
Hellblade 2
9/10
I am going to contradict some other opinions here, so here we go.
I played this in the dark, on hdr TV, with headphones on and no distractions whatsover. I don't think there is any other way you should play this.
Took me between 8 and 9 hours to complete, far longer than the 5 hours I see people saying. I guess if you don't take in the sights and sounds and constantly hold the run button down then 5 hours may be right. But then, what's the point.
I thought the combat was simple, but I enjoyed it a lot. It carried weight, it was super aggressive and very flashy looking. There were no unblockable attacks as someone mentioned above, you could dodge every attack coming your way.
Without doubt the best audio and visuals in a game by a long way. The animation work as well is so good, I forgot I was playing a game, it could have been live action. To top it off it had a great musical score which brings the whole package together.
It may not be for everyone, but that was an experience I will not forget in a hurry. I will even buy it when it comes down in price, I can see myself playing this again in a few years time.
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apollo
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Post by apollo on May 24, 2024 6:15:52 GMT
re: hellblade 2. There is unblockable attacks, which you have to dodge. (i found the AI used them a lot) Never rushed through the game but I didn't spend ages looking at the nice graphics (also there is jog button not run).
Like the website reviews, the gamer's review split opinion and thats a good thing.
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Post by richyroo on May 24, 2024 9:23:40 GMT
When you said unblockable attacks, I kind of read that as you couldn't avoid the attacks.
So yes you are right you cannot block some attacks, but you CAN dodge them.
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nazo
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Post by nazo on May 24, 2024 12:02:22 GMT
Persona 4 (The) Golden
Love P4G but I have to confess I've never managed to get all the way to the end in my 2 previous attempts. It overstays its welcome a bit and drags towards the conclusion but it's got my favourite cast of the 3 I've played. Some parts have definitely not aged well but a lot of the fuss is overblown imo. I'd definitely be up for a remake with some P5-style gameplay and QOL improvements.
8/10
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on May 24, 2024 12:06:10 GMT
I don't think I've played a single SMT or Persona game that *didn't* overstay its welcome by a dozen hours or so.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on May 26, 2024 7:54:22 GMT
Hellblade 2 (PC)
(some light spoilers ahead)
I enjoyed the first Hellblade. It had its issues, sure. The combat was mediocre and the puzzles simple, but as far as atmospheric games went, it was top notch.
When I compare the sequel to the original, it's one step forward and one step back. Sure it looks and sounds amazing, and it's even more cinematic than the original. Combat has been improved, and has a btter flow to it, though it's still fairly simple - just dodge and block and get a few hits in, until you can focus and waste away the current enemy, and then move on to the next one. Puzzles are longer this time, but they are still simple, so at times it comes along as more boring. Cinematics and story carry the game, and while i have no problems with the former, I do have two things that bother me about the story.
THe first one is that it's all very much supernatural this time. The first game never made it clear if Senua was battling real horrors or just her own mental issues. In fact, it looked very much like the latter. This sequel is more of a fantasy story, and I think it's lesser for it. Events in the first game are framed in the sequel, which probably didn't need to be. Also, too often Senua is treated like some kind of messiah, a savior who can do things other cannot, which veers far too close to the cliched "disability superpower" trope. I guess the story is at least engaging enough, though also somewhat boring and predictable at times. And like I said, the cinematics and atmosphere carry it through regardless.
In the end, I guess it changes things enough that I would consider it a "safer" game than the first Hellblade, but not necessarily a worse one. In fact, there are arguably improvements all around. It's just the story bits that bother me.
8/10
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Post by RumMonkey on May 26, 2024 21:24:55 GMT
Returnal
2nd go through and still going to be hard to top as my game of the gen. Loses that sense of awe at discovering WTF is going on and how it all works but it's just great fun to play. Visuals, sound, story and combat are all top notch.
Died 15 times on my first run through on release, got it down to 7 this time around. Will have a go at the DLC stuff now too.
10/10
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Post by Phattso on May 27, 2024 9:09:10 GMT
I think I died 15 times in the first hour, so I honestly have NFI how you managed that. ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png)
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Post by RumMonkey on May 27, 2024 14:07:57 GMT
I find that with people who play the From games. Fuck knows how they get through them.
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Post by stuz359 on May 27, 2024 14:39:39 GMT
FF7 Rebirth
Fun card game with some RPG like story progression. Would recommend.
Seriously, three weekends and about 100 hrs later, it's one of my favourite games this gen.
It hit all the right story beats. Minor points in the original were full fleshed out to it's detriment at times (a passing mention in the original is expanded to a 2 hour story here).
My only complaint is that it may have been too much, you could have trimmed a third of the content easily and still have had a great game with a run time of 50-60 hrs.
All in all, I loved my time with this game, bring tissues. I'm hoping now that they have built out so many assets with this game that the next one shouldn't take too long.
9/10
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JonFE
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Post by JonFE on May 27, 2024 14:46:22 GMT
I find that with people who play the From games. Fuck knows how they get through them. Cannot speak for all of us, but for me personally it's through stubborn, masochistic perseverance
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hicksy
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Post by hicksy on May 27, 2024 19:35:08 GMT
Return To Grace (XBS via GP)
Gracefully done walking sim with light puzzle elements. Strong voice work, basic puzzles and decent environment. Short in a good way with a reasonable story and a bit of a weak ending (imo).
6/10
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Post by kilters on May 29, 2024 20:04:57 GMT
Jedi Survivor 6.5/10
Looks nice and it kept me going to the end. Level design is interesting and the locomotion and general drip of abilities adds a decent pace. There are some really good moments and set pieces that make this an easy recommend to play.
However, there is so much bloat which yields so little. Ooh a new colour scheme or mangy mullet as reward for that death defying sequence of wall running and double jumps. There were ability upgrades which is fine but whos got time for the other shit. Then there is the bosses. I'm not the best at souls like games but fuck me the bosses were tedious. It's less skill and more luck in avoiding never before seen moves and unblock-able attacks. Whacked difficulty down for those encounters. Was glad when the end eventually arrived. Also worth mentioning that there is still a fair amount of jank and bugs throughout the game.
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Post by dfunked on May 30, 2024 19:39:33 GMT
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty (SX) - 9/10
Well it's got an end credit sequence so I'm treating it as a complete game, even though I've got a chunk of the main game still to go... Excellent stuff, anyway. One of the better bits of DLC I've played. Solid performances all around, especially Songbird. Some of my choices in the story will really stick with me. I'll definitely be reloading a manual save to see the other outcomes. Loved the new area to explore and there are some great set pieces along the way. It helps that the core game is in a bloody good place now too.
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Tomo
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Post by Tomo on May 30, 2024 22:50:46 GMT
Hades - 9/10
Finally finished it after a loooooong hiatus. Very good and very moreish. My only real qualm is that I wish you unlocked the Keepsakes and new weapons a bit faster. I played a lot of runs, like 50 hours worth, and still had tonnes of stuff to unlock. Slow going, and whilst you don't need it to complete the game, it would've be nice to add a bit more variation to the runs. Will play the hell out of the sequel once it's out of EA.
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Post by peacemaker on May 31, 2024 7:59:30 GMT
Returnal 2nd go through and still going to be hard to top as my game of the gen. Loses that sense of awe at discovering WTF is going on and how it all works but it's just great fun to play. Visuals, sound, story and combat are all top notch. Died 15 times on my first run through on release, got it down to 7 this time around. Will have a go at the DLC stuff now too. 10/10 I would have enjoyed it more with only 15 deaths. I think I had more than 25 deaths in zone one before I ever even got to leave it. Thankfully it only took 2 more tries to complete the whole thing otherwise it was getting deleted.
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wunty
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Post by wunty on May 31, 2024 8:14:10 GMT
I've had about 7 million deaths in Returnal. Even now I'll randomly not make it through Biome 1 or 2 or any of them. A good run will be undone very quickly if I'm not careful.
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Post by ToomuchFluffy on May 31, 2024 17:35:23 GMT
Finished Wolfenstein - The Old Blood (7+ hours) after all. Almost abandoned it as I didn't feel much interest in going back to it.
Basic FPS mechanics and choice of weaponry are fine, though nothing much of interest. All kinds of guns can be dual-wielded though it's not really clear what the purpose of it is. It feels like it's just in there for the sake of "awesome". I didn't use it much, nor did I ever feel the need to.
Movement can feel a bit clunky. Trying to start running from a crouch feels slow and unresponsive which can be a problem. More generally it's frequently a problem that the situation can be unclear and it's not always easy to know what to do in some possibly scripted situations. Oftentimes a lot of spawning will happen, but it will simply stop after a while, while in other situations it's endless. Which is a problem, because the gameplay is either stealth or shooting, not running away, so it goes against expectations. Having to take out Officers to prevent reinforcements on the other hand is fine. It just adds some variety to gameplay.
Which is good considering how uninspired the whole thing feels. Neither weapons nor enemies are particularly interesting. The aesthetic is what you'd expect when it comes to somewhat modernized Nazi soldiers. It's not that it is bad or unfitting, it's just very limited in what you can do with it. The Zombies towards the end were a wasted opportunity. I expected a little more than just shooting dozens upon dozens of them into the head. They don't really add anything expect a plot point.
I'm not a big fan of how sentimental it is at times. The music is fitting and the voice-acting pretty good, but the story is just hollywoodized material of the kind that you have seen dozens of times before. Again, not bad, it just doesn't have anything to say, just a little bit of action here, a bit of melodrama there and ultimately the hero wins the day. It also suffers from odd pacing where the progression felt more like a succession of plot points happening without the order of them having much importance. Now that I think about it, I don't really feel like I have experienced a story or a journey just a bunch of weakly related plot points.
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apollo
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Post by apollo on Jun 1, 2024 9:45:58 GMT
The Chant
started last year and fell off it due to other games. I really want to like it as there isn't many survival horror type games on console (unless its a remake) but lots of odd and rough game design choices by the dev. Major part of the game is mediocre melee combat and awful dodge move. Also the levels look all the same as its set on island that is mostly trees and plants and some old shacks, its easy to get lost or waste resources as you walk about, the lack of run button is mad as you have strange creatures after you. Also the ending I got was shit, I think it depends on what stat is the highest? they added free DLC which might be the real ending but it seems to be run based escape sort of thing
It could of been hidden gem sort of game but its more like 6/10
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Post by Material Defender on Jun 1, 2024 16:26:08 GMT
Doom Eternal
Played through again on Ultra Violence and the game is just so incredibly well designed. I can't think of another game that utilises every available weapon and ability so well throughout. It layers so many mechanics on as the game progresses (at an astonishing rate in the DLC) but never feels overwhelming or fiddly. Even the platforming feels great. They just nailed everything
It looks phenomenal on Series X (with RT) and feels more classic Doom than 2016 did, to my mind. I played 2016 again beforehand and that still looks ridiculous for a nearly 10 year old game
With the DLC it seems like they looked at every weapon or ability that was under utilised in the base game and added new elements just for them (ghustbusting the spirits with the plasma beam, autoshotgun imps) along with loads of new stuff not found in the main game. It could have just been more of the same (same with Eternal after 2016) but there's real creativity and talent behind it
Just from a game design perspective, I love the game so much. It's such a unique experience, which is pretty novel for an FPS these days. Most "retro" shooters I've seen recently are just Doom 2016, which itself was great as a revival, but Eternal feels as exciting and fresh for me as the original Doom was. It's something new
Trying the campaign on Nightmare now and it's quite difficult (especially with a controller and no aim assist). I'm curious to see if I can beat it though. UV wasn't that bad for the main game (a couple of sticky points and the last level is a bit rough) but the DLC is such a jump in difficulty I'm not sure I'll be able to do it
Horde mode is also a really fun addition I've been putting some time into since finishing up the campaign
Easily my third favourite id game and probably of all time
Can't wait to see what they do next
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jun 2, 2024 16:17:20 GMT
Hauntii (PC)
Now there's a really endearing game... the story of a ghost in the afterlife and his angel guide. Gameplay is a bit Mario Odyssey, a bit twin stick shooter, a bit adventure, and a lot of atmosphere. Visuals are impressive, music is amazing, and it's overall a lot of fun while also being very nice on the eyes and ears. And it's thematically unique too. The depiction of angels is very biblical-like and something to behold. Did I mention it looks amazing?
It has flaws for sure. Walking around can be quite slow, and while early areas are small enough that it doesn't matter, later areas can be way too large, to the point that you don't feel like exploring them. Fast travel is only unlocked near the end, whereas it would be very nice to have before as well. The camera isn't always helpful, especially around buildings. Stars variety is not nearly as expansive as in Mario Odyssey, so you start noticing a lot of repetition later on (you don't need to get all stars to finish the game, of course, but finding at least half seems to be essential). And I hear there are lots of progress-halting bugs too, although luckily I didn't get any myself.
Still, it's one of those rare games that is much more than the sum of its parts, and its flaws seem so much easier to tolerate because of that.
9/10
Generous score perhaps, but much like Boltgun it really resonated with me despite its issues.
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ned
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Post by ned on Jun 5, 2024 10:53:46 GMT
Alan Wake remastered - shit gameplay but the fuck did i just play
Control - not shit gameplay, but what the actual fuck did i just play
AW was a bit pants but i did somewhat enjoy the Twin Peaks vibe.
Control one of the coolest but most bizarre and incomprehensible games ive played.
Need to play something more grounded now before i have my own psychotic episode.
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hicksy
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Post by hicksy on Jun 5, 2024 13:01:46 GMT
Play Grounded via XB GP. It’s well… grounded.
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malek86
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Post by malek86 on Jun 5, 2024 21:37:29 GMT
Destiny 2: The Final Shape (campaign) (PC)
As there's apparently one last story mission unlocked after somebody manages to clear the day-one raid contest, I'll reserve my final score until that point. But still, I can probably tell most there's to know about the campaign already.
Story-wise, it's a definite improvement over Lightfall, though admittedly that was a low bar to clear. Couldn't really get behind some of the plot twists, and I do think they had no choice but to knock the Witness' invincibility cred down a notch, otherwise nothing could have dealt with it. As for gameplay... there is actually a new enemy race, pretty annoying tbf, while the new area is pretty much a remix of the old areas. Missions too, they are almost all quite predictable in structure, and even those use remixed mechanic from popular old content. Could have been worse though.
I struggle to say it's as good as Witch Queen, because the difficulty in the legendary campaign is tuned a bit too high. Enemy count is crazy high, and while the missions are not that hard per se, checkpoints are too rare, so just one mistake is often enough to force you to replay very long fights - usually in two or three phases. The final boss can do one too, I couldn't solo it. Had to call in some help.
Unless the final mission somehow manages to tie the whole story together (that's a tall order), I don't think it will go above 7/10.
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