froghawk on 27/5/2019 at 20:37
Guess that explains why I never finished Doom 2. I should do that one of these days.
Pyrian on 28/5/2019 at 02:31
Honestly? Not really worth it.
qolelis on 28/5/2019 at 10:18
Aah, DooM II. :) I had a lot of fun with that back in the day. I don't remember it being crazy hard, but, then again, I was 20 years younger then -- and also much less inclined to question the whole premise. Now I would probably not be as motivated to get good at it -- even if my reflexes would be up to par (which they are probably not).
SpicyVM on 29/5/2019 at 07:44
Currently I'm playing Minecraft. I think everyone will agree that it's the best sandbox ever. Don't have much time for playing it on my PC but luckily they have (
https://500bestapps.com/minecraft) pocket edition for a smartphone. The same sandbox, same bocks but you can play it just everywhere.
WingedKagouti on 29/5/2019 at 09:29
I have 10-20 times more hours in Terraria than I do in Minecraft, so no we won't all agree that Minecraft is the best sandbox ever.
Malf on 29/5/2019 at 13:33
Quote Posted by SpicyVM
I think everyone will agree that it's the best sandbox ever.
It's good and accessible, certainly, but there are definitely games out there that I prefer for sandboxiness.
Dwarf Fortress probably being the bull elephant in this particular room.
demagogue on 29/5/2019 at 14:12
Minecraft is great for sandbox when you add in modding & fan maps. But the modding scene has died over the last several years, and even in its prime, it's always had a pretty juvenile streak.
At this point, I have a very clear image in my mind about the perfect sandbox game--actually several by genre--and I don't think any of them have been made yet. Not the perfect versions yet anyway.
The first would be basically Minecraft in a Skyrim-like world (I guess now I'd say a Kingdom Come Deliverance-like world), which I thought was going to be done with the VoxelFarm Engine, but that never came about. I want to be able to explore some spawned sweeping vista countryside and build a realistic mansion or castle in-game on a hilltop to watch the sunset over my gardens. That could easily jump up to favorite-game-ever status, but we don't have that yet.
The second would be a Dwarf Fortress-like game, glyph based graphics but incredible interaction with the world. In my dream version, you can "cast spells" as actual computer code, so you can literally re-code the game from inside the game as part of the game... That would be sandbox Inception for me.
As for some of the others, one would be a space sandbox. Right now X4 holds that position when the bulk of the current bugs are fixed in 3 or 4 years. But ... it's not quite there yet. I don't know everything that will get it there, but I'll know it when I see it.
Another would be a Grand Strategy sandbox. The best I have for that right now is Victoria 2, but it's showing its age by now and isn't actually all that sandboxy. My own best game idea was a French Revolution sim, which is basically just a sandbox of Revolutionary Era Paris while the revolution is going on around you, and you can do what you want while it rages ... survive it, exploit it, etc.
But yeah, Minecraft + things like Buildcraft and the other Buildcraft and Alchemy one and -- I can't even remember all their names now -- is pretty good, or was in its prime.
DaBeast on 29/5/2019 at 15:25
Just finished Observation.
I didn't really know anything about it, its more interactive story than a game, akin to the Telltale games, but I found the writing to be very tight, better than some sci-fi movies I've seen lately. It's fairly short, maybe 3-5 hours, but even so, I haven't played a game for more than an hour at a time in a few years, with this I played it from start to finish.
I'd recommend playing it at night, don't read about the story or anything, just try it out. Zero expectations really elevated it I think.
Still chipping away at AC Odyssey, I skipped syndicate and only played a couple of hours of Unity, it's so refreshing to get away from the old interface with the headache inducing whites and clunky mechanics. Story is kind of meh, but it's fun enough to play for an hour here and there.
Malf on 29/5/2019 at 15:57
On a related note, I'm currently chipping away at AC Origins, which as far as I understand it is the first run of mechanics improved in Odyssey.
It's okay, but I think I'm just tired of these formulaic open world games now. Probably doesn't help that I'm playing it on Nightmare, which while for the most part is incredibly manageable, can result in the occasional bullshit death.
'tis ridiculously pretty mind you.
I'm still bouncing around looking for something to really sink my teeth into since finishing Pillars of Eternity 2 in turn-based mode. Much like Witcher 3, it's set the bar so damn high, I'm struggling to find a long-play game to replace it with. Every now and again I fire up the first game with the intention of playing it and the sequel through, so as to have greatest continuity of story. But the original game is really hard to get in to and quite depressing compared to the breezy, happy-go-lucky piratical nature of the second game.
And RTwP sucks ass compared to Turn-Based.
But on my commute, Bayonetta 2 on the Switch is still keeping me entertained and making the train journey disappear in seemingly no time at all.
I have my problems with the structure of the game still, but it's beautifully replayable and incredibly satisfying when it clicks. I've since gone back to compare both DMC: Devil May Cry and my previous favourite spectacle fighter, MGR Revengeance, and found them lacking in comparison. Witch Time, Dodge Offset and holding inputs rather than pressing them in quick succession just makes this game so much more interesting than other spectacle fighters.
I just wish you could restart checkpoints like in MGR rather than having to restart the whole level if you botch a fight if you're chasing those Pure Platinum medals.
It's also a massive shame that we're never likely to see a PC release of this what with it being licensed by Nintendo. It deserves a wider audience.
Sulphur on 29/5/2019 at 17:33
Quote Posted by DaBeast
Just finished
Observation.
I didn't really know anything about it, its more interactive story than a game, akin to the Telltale games, but I found the writing to be very tight, better than some sci-fi movies I've seen lately. It's fairly short, maybe 3-5 hours, but even so, I haven't played a game for more than an hour at a time in a few years, with this I played it from start to finish.
I'd recommend playing it at night, don't read about the story or anything, just try it out. Zero expectations really elevated it I think.
I'm glad someone here played it, because it's definitely a well-crafted experience. I'd find myself recommending it too except while I feel it's singular as an interactive mystery, I didn't quite love it.
Everyone complained about the interface(s) and lack of signposting, but barring a few scenarios where an objective was vague, everything's available to point you in the right direction if you look for it. The UX was fantastic, I thought, but then I'm an unabashed fan of Alien: Isolation's old school user interfaces.
However, as lovely as the environmental (heh) detail is, I find it odd that the story develops some compelling points but then just jettisons them towards the end. There's a few great opportunities for storytelling, but they're dealt with too quickly because the central mystery and answering it become paramount. And it's certainly an
interesting resolution, but not one that has the weight or resonance of everything that came before it. It's a very good attempt; it just needed a bit more to be great.
Quote Posted by Malf
On a related note, I'm currently chipping away at AC Origins, which as far as I understand it is the first run of mechanics improved in Odyssey.
It's
okay, but I think I'm just tired of these formulaic open world games now. Probably doesn't help that I'm playing it on Nightmare, which while for the most part is incredibly manageable, can result in the occasional bullshit death.
Frankly, it's Ubisoft Game. The thing about Origins that makes me keep going is the environments first, and the surprisingly strong initial story second. Gameplay is way down the list since things like combat are (finally) merely competent. Even the side quests seem more organically written than the previous games' collectible hunting and random street muggings. If neither of those interest you, though, it is indeed going to be a very uncompelling experience. AssCreed's never been good with emergent systemic interplay.
