The Gaming Thread

[Night Herald]

Medieval III has me very excited, though it’s a good thing it’s so far off. Gives me more time to find a PC that can run it!

My thoughts exactly. I'm thinking it would be nice to have an upgrade even for 40K Total War and Dawn of War 4. My old workhorse isn't the spring chicken she used to be, no sir. That ghastly chimera has served me well, but may be about time for her to retire to an auxiliary role.

 

[Set2Stun]

While I loved Elden Ring for a while, and poured a hundred hours into it, I got stuck on a particularly difficult boss, got frustrated, and will likely never pick it up again. I played GTA V for the first time this year, that was a lot of fun. Wish there were more heists to do in single player mode. After you finish the main story, there's just pointless busywork types of missions to complete. No thanks.

I'd recommend the Mass Effect remasters if you've never played them before. I went through the trilogy for the first time this year and had a blast. Another series I've loved is Horizon. They're maybe a bit too expansive, though. Don't try to finish all the side quests, or you'll be burning a good 150-200 hours.

Oh and how could I forget - The Ghost of Tsushima. One of the best. And if you've never played it, I consider Witcher III to be the greatest RPG of all time. Games, games, games !

 

[Rath Darkblade]

After many years of hoping and asking and being mildly disappointed (I am, after all, a responsible, mature adult who still thinks Lego is the best Christmas present) I have finally got my mitts on a PS5 this Christmas, thanks to my lovely wife. After downloading the obligatory football title and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, I'm looking for recommendations of what to fill my time with. I enjoy a good RPG, but also games which can hook me quickly. One-player only - sod online, I really couldn't care less about playing anything with anyone else as a longstanding misanthrope.

Danke schön.

If you don't mind classic RPGs, you might like to try Neverwinter Nights, or the granddaddy of them all, Baldur's Gate.

I just started playing BG. Apart from the shock of trying to remember THAC0 and Armour Class that goes down instead of up, it's good.

 

[TrevorD]

Baldur's gate 3 is awesome fwiw.

 

[Rath Darkblade]

I'm sure it is, but I haven't played BG1 or BG2 yet. Also, BG3 is a beast, so it'll take ages for me to download. So I'll play the earlier ones for now.

I'm also sure it's a time-sink, even more so than Skyrim. (And speaking of which - here's a Skyrim song!) =p

Dovahkiin! Dovahkiin!
Here's a brigand to fight!
Dovahkiin! Dovahkiin!
You will be here all night!
The game world is immense
and the music's intense!
Dovahkiin! Dovahkiin!
But it doesn't make sense...!

(stirring music continues; lots of trumpets and drums) =)

Brigands fight you --
they don't have to!
Cold and breezy --
Now I'm sneezy! ;-P

(break for high-soprano notes) =)

NPCs? Mostly dumb,
jus' like TES4;
Mammoths float in the sky,
do not stay on the floor.
Dragons fly back in time,
now we're all in a fix;
Maybe things will be fine
in The Elder Scrolls Six!

(break for music and roars ... and stuff ... to the end) =)

 

[TrevorD]

I'd never played BG1 or 2 before playing 3. Still loved it.

 

[X Equestris]

I'd never played BG1 or 2 before playing 3. Still loved it.

Yeah, it’s almost wholly divorced from them in terms of plot. What connections there are either get explained outright or are understandable even without added context. Very easy to get into, especially if you’re already familiar with D&D in general or the Forgotten Realms in particular.

 

[TrevorD]

Yeah, it’s almost wholly divorced from them in terms of plot. What connections there are either get explained outright or are understandable even without added context. Very easy to get into, especially if you’re already familiar with D&D in general or the Forgotten Realms in particular.

i played the overpowered monk and just cleared the deck so fast it was crzy

 

[Rath Darkblade]

i played the overpowered monk and just cleared the deck so fast it was crzy

Clear the decks with monks with powers,
Falalalala ... etc.
Then your monk can hit the showers,
Falalalala ...

 

[Rath Darkblade]

This is long, but please bear with me. It's made of so much win.

 

[X Equestris]

i played the overpowered monk and just cleared the deck so fast it was crzy

My first playthrough was a paladin. What a blast he was! Hard to hit, harder to kill, and he was an incredible healer thanks to Oath of the Ancients. In the fight at

Spoiler

the House of Grief

he must’ve been surrounded by over half a dozen enemies and never took more than a scratch over three or four turns.

The class-specific dialogue made it even better.

Spoiler: Late Act I Spoilers for BG3

Defying Nere with “Your god. My oath. Let us see which prevails” after he murders a slave by kicking her into the lava flow, then killing him the same way was one of the most epic roleplaying moments I’ve ever encountered in any RPG

 

[Set2Stun]

With my free time I've gone ahead and finished Final Fantasy I. This was a game I had played on the original NES, but I got stuck and couldn't figure out what to do next. Even today there wasn't any kind of clue in the game. After obtaining a certain item, you have to speak with a one specific, seemingly random NPC to move the plot forward. Thank the gods for game FAQs. Poor past Me had no idea how close he was to the end of the game when he gave up guessing.

And now I'm on to FFII, maybe 6 hours in now. The dungeon design in these first two games is a bit frustrating. They're basically mazes with plenty of empty rooms and dead ends, I suspect to stretch out the runtime with more random enemy encounters. Sometimes I get fed up and toggle "No Encounters"

Overall it's been fun to experience the early history of turn-based console RPGs. Can't imagine playing them again, though.

 

[Casket]

With my free time I've gone ahead and finished Final Fantasy I. This was a game I had played on the original NES, but I got stuck and couldn't figure out what to do next. Even today there wasn't any kind of clue in the game. After obtaining a certain item, you have to speak with a one specific, seemingly random NPC to move the plot forward. Thank the gods for game FAQs. Poor past Me had no idea how close he was to the end of the game when he gave up guessing.

And now I'm on to FFII, maybe 6 hours in now. The dungeon design in these first two games is a bit frustrating. They're basically mazes with plenty of empty rooms and dead ends, I suspect to stretch out the runtime with more random enemy encounters. Sometimes I get fed up and toggle "No Encounters"

Overall it's been fun to experience the early history of turn-based console RPGs. Can't imagine playing them again, though.

I have recently played FF5 and then FF4. Preferred FF5 to FF4 but man that boss fight in FF4 is really fun to play although when you keep on losing, it's frustrating.

 

[Tallyfire]

I just started Ghost of Yotei. Loved the first game, and I’m loving this one so far too. Atsu’s rage is a nice change-up.

 

[Set2Stun]

There's a few games I'm waiting for price drops before acquiring; Yotei is one of 'em. New games are freakin $90 CAD now. I also want Outer Worlds 2, and Borderlands 4. The latter is down to $70 now but I don't really like paying more than fitty these days.

 

[Night Herald]

Tried out the demo for Menace, an upcoming military sci-fi tactics game in a similar vein to stuff like XCOM or Phoenix Point. I had a lot of fun with it once I started to understand the systems. Rather than individual soldiers you control squads or vehicles, which can gain perks and stuff through veterancy, be kitted out with lots of different gear. The combat is fun, visceral, and deadly. Game looks gorgeous in that drab sci-fi sort of way. I only paid token attention to the story and setting elements they showcase in the demo, want to save most of that for the full release, but seems to me like they might be on to something. Probably a day one purchase for me.

 

[Luxuria]

My opinion? Get Elden Ring. The best ever.

Yes!!!!