ShreddieMercury

I always thought 28 Weeks Later was pretty underrated.  It's a really solid sequel.

4 hours ago, XxEvil AshxX said:

 

I would actually be 100% ok if it was an Uncharted rip. An Uncharted game but set in the 1930's with that musical score and really loud "wpshhh!" sounds when I punch someone? Yes, please.

 

But that's just me.

I would be surprised if there isn't a very unique angle to Indiana Jones.  I doubt it's an Uncharted clone.  Machinegames (and formerly Starbreeze) are one of the more interesting and unique developers working at this point.  The Wolfenstein games (and Reddick before them) are completely off-the-wall in comparison to what we see broadly in mainstream gaming.

Is Indiana Jones actually Wolfenstein III?

24 minutes ago, stepee said:

 

Very cool! How did that come about?

My neighbor is a film composer, and we play music together.  He occasionally uses me for various songs or soundtracks to movies that he's working on.  I studied music in college but never formally pursued it, so it's nice to have an outlet!

I recorded guitar for a song that's included on the soundtrack.  Hopefully this runs on my PC because it looks awesome.

The crime board was less insulting to my intelligence than the entirety of Jedi Survivor.

AW2's reception might be skewed slightly by the fact that it's an unlikely sequel that lots of people thought we'd never get.  But that doesn't mean it's not a bracing, original, and risky game that came along at a time when most video games don't aspire to be much more than interchangeable digital slop.

3 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

Normal.

 

I wouldn't say the "story" is strong -- didn't mean to suggest it was.  IMHO, the "story-telling" is good -- in the variety of ways they tell their story.  I know I'm probably not expressing the distinction particularly well.

 

Given the horrid state of writing in most video games, I think the dialogue is perfectly fine.

Oh I wasn't even commenting on what you said, that was just my general thought about the writing.  I agree that the story itself is compelling and really interesting.  But it does exhibit some of the typical shared universe/superhero issues of constantly evolving rules and a lack of stakes because nothing is real.  Or it becomes real sometimes but just kidding it's not anymore.

1 hour ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

I played through this section last night:

  Hide contents

 

I've heard people call this GOTY, while others say it is not a very good game.  So far, I think they're both right!

 

The story telling in this game is awesome, with interesting writing, new vignettes, and new experiences hitting you all the time.  It really is an engaging experience.

 

Remedy has shown they know how to do combat -- Control was very strong, Quantum Break was good too.  Alan Wake 2 really is a departure from Remedy's earlier games -- and I find it mostly "meh" so far.  Mostly slow enemies that are bullet sponges, lack of variety in weapons.  Constantly spawning enemies just behind you (to be fair, their previous games did this a lot too).  But where Alan Wake had too much combat, the sequel has far too little for my tastes.

 

Really positive experience so far, but I completely understand why some publications had it as GOTY, while it wasn't in the top 10 at others.

I agree with this.  AW2 is a weird case of being my favorite experience this year, but I would barely call it a game, and I doubt I'll ever replay it like I do older Remedy titles.  I also don't know that I would say that the story or dialogue is particularly strong.  It's mostly just the context of the gap between the first game and the sequel, and what an interesting and bold choice it was to take the series in this direction that I find so compelling.

Buy a Series S with that.  If you don't want any MS stuff, just turn it into an emulation powerhouse.

2 hours ago, Biggie said:

YES that’s it!!! I loved those games. On the original Xbox. I thought it was 360 cause the graphics were top notch back then. I remember the water and mud just blowing my mind. I need to try the WRC game because I have EA Play with GamePass Ultimate. You say it’s pretty good huh? 

It's excellent, but it's definitely more on the sim side than something like Rallisport Challenge.  I play on controller, and it's pretty much necessary to play with at least some assists on to make the handling somewhat doable.  The default settings are solid, so I would just advise not going with the hardcore option unless you have a wheel and are super serious about it.

13 minutes ago, Biggie said:

Rally games are fun as hell. I remember one on the 360 made by Microsoft but can’t remember the name. It was a blast. Also enjoyed the Colin McRae games. 

Rallisport Challenge 1 and 2?  Those were awesome on the original Xbox.  I'm bummed that they never were made backwards compatible.  The only 360 ones I remember were Dirt 2 and 3, which were developed by Codemasters, who also made this new WRC game.

So far this holiday season I've found myself consumed with EA Sports WRC.  I usually swear off anything EA Sports out of principle, but I couldn't help myself since this saw a 40% discount in the winter Xbox sale.

Despite having no affinity for simulation racing, I'm loving this game.  I do wish it was a bit less challenging, but learning how the cars drive and finding the perfect balance between control and speed is extremely engaging.  I've always loved rally games, back to Sega Rally on Saturn, and this game does one thing better than nearly any other: the stages.  The variety of different rally stages here is probably the best in any game to date.  All of the surfaces feel very unique to drive, and the weather effects are excellent.  It's a pretty perfect recreation of what makes this sport so enthralling.

That said, there seem to be pretty severe performance issues that people are experiencing, including a completely borked career mode that will crash the game when you select "continue".  The only thing I've seen is some inconsistent screen tearing, but like most things released nowadays it does appear to be an unfinished product, hence the likely poor sales and early discount.  It certainly doesn't help that EA just gutted the Codemasters staff shortly after acquiring them.  Awesome industry!

The next one on my list is Rush Rally 3 on Switch, which I've heard is fantastic as well.

12 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

How soon?  I just played the demo and it's a pretty good time, but it's just a more slowly paced FPS version of Hotline Miami.  Hopefully it's not that Devolver thing of having a single catchy idea and then forgetting to design a game.

This game looks rad as hell, and it's only $3.39 on Steam right now!

I would prefer video games where I don't even touch the controller because I don't like how sometimes when I press the wrong button something bad happens to my hero.

1 hour ago, Paperclyp said:

If we’re airing our grievances I do not find jet set radio to be fun 

 

*runs away

JSR remains my favorite video game, but if you didn't love it when it launched, I don't think anyone would be converted now.  I still find the gameplay extremely fun, but it is very, very unique and certainly not to everyone's tastes.  It's from a time when games had unique controls that were not completely homogeneous, which I miss.

The soundtrack/visuals/style are really where the game excels.  I'm thankful we got Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, and I enjoyed it well enough, but it's a pale imitation of SEGA's classic.

2 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

You take your mid AF opinion back right now

I might not understand what mid means... it's middling right?  I think their games are fine but pretty overrated.  I enjoyed the first Spider-Man, but not nearly as much as the Arkham games.  And Ratchet is just okay, which I think means mid.  But it might also be a lack of rizz on my part.

Yeah it's bad.  And then it provided the template for all the other modern Insomniac games, which are also mid AF.

Awesome, a decade of garbage.

580.

I was on the IGN boards probably mid-2000's but do not remember my account name.  I've been here since maybe 2011, though it was called Bad Cartridge. 

All these lists are fine, but I want to specifically single out Paste putting El Paso, Elsewhere at #2.  That is an absolutely abysmal game from top to bottom.  Probably the most disgusted I've been at a videogame (and its general reception) in many years.  If you want to talk about inflated scores and the sad state of modern games criticism, look no further.

Can't wait to drive for 15 minutes to a quest marker, move a walking pile of molasses around while I shoot guns with auto-aim and then drive back.

Perfect Dark comes closest in terms of ambition, but that's mostly because of the absurd quantity of features.

There was no other shooter before Halo that took a sandbox approach to combat encounters in quite the same way.  The AI routines are still impressive to this day, and make the game extremely replayable.  Grenades being mapped to a trigger, and only being able to carry two weapons were significant design choices that completely upended how you approached the game.  Then you have a large focus on vehicular combat that seamlessly switches between the first and third person perspectives.  The cooperative AI of the marines in these vehicle sections adds another layer that helps make each encounter feel unique and impactful.

On top of this you have the level design of things like "The Silent Cartographer", which blends together several set pieces within what's essentially a small open island, or "Two Betrayals", which pits two opposing enemy types against each other with you in the middle.

Maybe there were games in the PC space that were doing this at the same time, but I can't recall any.  Halo is often lauded for further popularizing the FPS on console, but like I said, I still don't think people appreciate just how revolutionary the game was and still is.