Videogame Discussion Thread

No wonder they wouldn't release a game with a script like that. I may have an unpopular opinion, but that script is piss-poor.

 

Right now salty fans are bombarding Dota2 with negative reviews because Valve is not doing HL2E3.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/570/Dota_2/

 

What makes me sad is that those types of games are no longer being made. It's all open world or games as a service MP stuff. I doubt Bethesda will even make another Dishonored game after Dishonored 2 and Prey.

@Grahad2 that's silly but I'm disappointed with valve too. All they do now is CS GO and Dota. I guess I expect more from a privately owned company like valve.

 

But that's what you'd expect a private company to do, focus on stuff that brings you the maximum guaranteed profit for minimum risk. HL2E3 has been so long it could be a hit it could be a whiff, why not focus on 2 IPs that are doing better and better every year. Dota 2 brought in 125mil in raw revenue in 1 event alone!

 

Used games, piracy, and the blockbuster or bust approach to publishing have destroyed mid sized games where a lot of the best stuff used to be, along with the general single player focus. Bethesda are the last stalwarts, though it looks like Dishonoured 2 and Prey didn't set the world alight, and although they have the Elder Scrolls and Fallout cash cows we may eventually see even them move away from it. Doom which did very well initially saw steep sales discounts only a few months later during Steam sales.

Valve also lost four major writers in the last two years: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/20...wo-years-as-jay-pinkerton-leaves-the-company/

Considering that they have a flat staff structure whereby people make what they want to make, combined with the last paragraph of Laidlaw's Episode 3 story and so many writers leaving, perhaps Valve has been through a significant cultural shift.

 

Ive played quite a few games over the summer so far. Beat Doom again on Ultra-Violence this time, still an absolutely incredible game. I've been playing Fallout New Vegas with a friend of mine, which is aight, but Fallout isnt my favorite game. Im about halfway through Saints Row The Third playing coop with the same friend, and that game is a f'ing riot, it's basically everything that used to be awesome about GTA games, but even more ridiculous and even better.

I got Bayonetta for PC during the steam sale and its basically the pinnacle of character action games, and runs/looks great on PC. I also snagged Nex Machina, which is a coop twin stick shooter, that is also pretty sweet, though short.

Also finally started playing Dishonored which is actually a ton more fun than i thought it was going to be. Im about halfway through it and i havent killed anyone yet!

but more timely, any of you guys playing the Destiny 2 beta? I never played the original since i dont have an xbone or ps4, but this ones on PC! My battle tag is SoupRKnowva#1192 if anyone wants to play

 

Bayonetta is great, you should find a way to play Bayonetta 2 if you don't have a PC. It's easier and the combat doesn't have the depth but it's a lot of fun. Metal Gear Rising is probably my favorite action game though.

I played a lot of Destiny on PS4. Had a group of friends that I met through Destiny and pretty much did everything in that game. I don't think I have the time to play Destiny 2 but I'll try to get online for the PC beta. I don't think there's a lot of co-op content in the beta though. I think it's mostly solo intro to the story stuff and one strike, which is co-op.

 

that is indeed the case, just the one strike is available after the intro story mission, but having never played the first game I have played that one mission quite a few times. Every time i get a new type of weapon at the end i want to replay it to test that out, though i havent ended up using any of them. I really need to try the other 2 classes though, since i have only used the hunter

 

Prey is absolutely incredible from a game design viewpoint, especially the big reveal at the end as meta commentary on game design. The art direction is also straight up porn, art deco interior design + 80's scifi aesthetic. It's basically a modern day System Shock. With that said, if you don't play it on a high enough difficulty you won't really be extracting the full value of the level design since you could just blow through most anything with your shotgun. It's also infinitely less interesting if the ins and outs of game design aren't your cup of tea.

 

Has anyone here played Conarium? Looks exactly like the type of game I've been waiting for.

Just played through Bioshock Infinite again recently...played it when it first came out, played most of the game in the harder game mode, then no matter how low I set the difficulty I couldn't beat the final battle. This time around, maxed out the difficulty and still flew through the game and got through the final battle with resources to spare. I have to say...it's gotta be one of the best games ever made, and the entire series is a profound experience IMO. On the other hand, I'm not really a big gamer, I just play stuff that looks interesting or has a unique/beautiful environment.

I still remember feeling emotional when I finished HL2 as a kid, it's a damn shame the series is just going to fade into the darkness like that. Maybe someone else will pick it up and do it properly, who knows. Anything is possible these days I guess.

Should really get around to finishing Destiny 1 before 2 comes out....

 

So I'm currently playing a horror visual novel called The Letter. Rather obviously draws inspiration from Ju-On, The Ring, and other Asian horror staples, but it's damn good so far. Also, I only found out a little while back that the developer, Yangyang Mobile, is based here in the Philippines. That'd explain the, er, awkwardness of the writing.

It's not that there's anything grammatically wrong, really, just that there are some telling turns of phrase and a hint of awkwardness in the sentence structure. One of the cast members is supposed to be Glaswegian, for God's sake, but they speak as if they're from elsewhere (the accents lapse sometimes, but in a VN this long that's bound to happen). Also, one of the protagonists is supposed to be a Filipina working abroad; I don't get why they didn't hire an actual Filipina to voice her considering there are a few snippets of Filipino* in the game, though Amanda Lee does an admirable job nonetheless.

Ah well, the game scares me shitless either way, and the characters are adorable. I can let the awkward writing pass.



*Contrary to popular belief Tagalog is not, in point of fact, the Philippines's national language, but merely the regional dialect upon which Filipino was primarily based during its development. The terms have been so often interchanged that the differences are increasingly hard to discern, though, and I notice a lot of Fil-Ams living Stateside and even a great many people here get this wrong. There are actually seven other major dialects in the country (and over a hundred less-prolific ones), so I feel that mis-attributing Tagalog as the country's lingua franca does the seven other dialects injustice.

Then again, one might argue that Filipino as the language taught in many schools here in the Philippines was merely a region-specific form of Tagalog, so there is little meaningful difference and is largely sophistry. Also, one could also say that referring to a derivative of Tagalog as the country's national language is more of an affront to the other popular dialects, as it implies Tagalog has an inherent right to represent the entire archipelago and all Filipino peoples. It's... a bit of a hot-seat topic. Hell, I'm not even a linguist and I get irritable when the topic comes up.

 

It's great so far. Still early on but it's full of charm. Grant Kirkhope's music is wonderful

 

Hellblade - Senua's Sacrifice. Now this in one hell of an impressive game from a relatively small studio. Top notch story telling.

 

Awesome! Wanted to pick up a copy of Senua just so I get to experience the binaural audio, but my PC sucks and I'm generally bad with horror, haha.

Binaural aside, the soundtrack of Senua is a beautiful listen! Definitely a strong contender for modern favourite.

 

So Divinity Original Sin 2 is releasing today and after having played the early access i fear for my sleep, spare time and social life but it will be f'ing worth it. Anyone else hyped for this?

 

@Riotvan

Oh wow, yes. I played the first one and loved it, didn't realize the second one released today. Will definitely have to get that one.

 

Looking forward to trying out game master mode, perhaps we can make a SBAF team and take turns as game master. Do the voices and all should be hilarious.