Currently Playing in 2019....

Diablo 3:

Still going with this, pushing hard into the End Game. It's fun but I can see where the criticisms are coming from. This is not a skill based game. This is a game about grinding and farming and gaming the set armours and items to break the difficulty levels. And that's fun. Seeing my Necromancer run a level set to Torment X (3 levels off the max) with relative ease is a great feeling, especially as ten minutes ago I couldn't even think of doing it. But I can already see myself getting bored. I've completed 5 levels of this Season, with the rest being waaaay out of my league even now and so I'm basically grinding for two specific items.

Still. Considering how old this game is it's still going strong.

Can't believe there's no FIFA 18 thread! I'm trying FUT for the first time and I have loads of noob questions.

I'm about 5 hours into Steamworld Heist now. Not sure I really like the procedurally generated levels, I feel like they make the difficulty curve a bit uneven, like you can luck out with the level design, or it can completely shaft you. The inventory limit is irksome as well, and I don't really like the way some missions rush you with time limits.

I expected a wee bit more from this. It's a solid game, a 7/10.

I played City on PC a while ago, night and day from the console versions. It runs well and looks real good still. The weather effects impressed the hell out of me. Still think it's the best one, I think I like it a smidge better than Asylum.

Squinty wrote:I'm about 5 hours into Steamworld Heist now. Not sure I really like the procedurally generated levels, I feel like they make the difficulty curve a bit uneven, like you can luck out with the level design, or it can completely shaft you. The inventory limit is irksome as well, and I don't really like the way some missions rush you with time limits.

I expected a wee bit more from this. It's a solid game, a 7/10.

I had a similar experience with the game, it's mostly decent but definitely could be improved in certain areas , especially the procedurally generated levels.

XCOM has similar issues with that, sometimes the game will generate a horribly difficult stage long before you're suitably equipped to deal with it.

Ironhide wrote:

Squinty wrote:I'm about 5 hours into Steamworld Heist now. Not sure I really like the procedurally generated levels, I feel like they make the difficulty curve a bit uneven, like you can luck out with the level design, or it can completely shaft you. The inventory limit is irksome as well, and I don't really like the way some missions rush you with time limits.

I expected a wee bit more from this. It's a solid game, a 7/10.

I had a similar experience with the game, it's mostly decent but definitely could be improved in certain areas , especially the procedurally generated levels.

XCOM has similar issues with that, sometimes the game will generate a horribly difficult stage long before you're suitably equipped to deal with it.

I agree entirely about XCOM. Terror missions out of completely nowhere were never much fun. I never did finish that game, I have it on PC now with the expansion. I should give it a shot.

I think I'm gonna knock Steamworld Heist on the head. I'm starting to really hate the way the levels are randomly generated. I've came across some pretty stupid things, breaching a door to a room with about 6 guys in it and you have no cover points on your side, which leaves your bots vulnerable to attack as they scramble to a cover point they can do something at. I've had to restart levels a few times because of stuff like this.

Not for me.

Shadow of Mordor.

It's alright, but I feel a bit lost. The map doesn't seem that big for an open world game, but it's certainly choc full of orcs to stab, I guess. Not really seeing what people have been raving about in it yet, but the combat's pretty satisfying, I guess.

Still Yakuza 0, approaching the 100 hour mark now. In stark contrast with the last game I played (Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage) which took around 50 hours with the last 20 or so being a huge chore Yakuza 0 is flying by. I thought fatigue might have set in by now but I’m still really enjoying it. I’m just about to start the 5th area of the Cabaret Club Czar questline.

Ass Creed Unity. It controls strawberry floating terribly and performs like a dog.

Can't see myself sticking with it, despite how interested I am in this period of history.

Secret World Legends has become quite a regular thing week nights for a few hours. Was in a four man team Friday. Took on one of the Elite Dungeons. Was doing okay until we met the final boss; a cthulhu lookalike and the size of a house. We got our asses kicked. Beat him on our second attempt.

Modern Warfare Remaster - campaign. They've done a top job, no question. Still a highly entertaining campaign.

Pro Evo 2018 (PS4) - challenging fun
Lego Worlds (Switch) - clunky fun
Mario Kart (GRcade online sessions) - infuriating fun
Fallout 4 (PS4) - just-re-starting-and-enjoying-it fun

I've recently completed Steamworld Heist. Not sure why they limit your inventory as all that does is limit what builds you can use for your characters. Whilst the procedurally generated levels can stiff you from time to time overall I didn't find that too much of an issue. The time limit levels are not enjoyable at all but usually it just means taking a slightly different approach (make your characters tanky and fast). Luckily there isn't too many of these.

I'm 75% of the way through Shadow Warrior. It's a fun enough game without doing anything too special. Before that I was playing Axiom Verge but I gave up on that about 60% of the way through as I found the whole running back and forth through the same areas and the insanely annoying soundtrack enough to give the game up.

Trying to work my way through some of my Steam backlog. Once Shadow Warrior is complete I'll move onto Ori and the Blind Forest.

Was playing a bit more Shadow of Mordor and I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. There's no sense of progression, especially as captains are repeatedly replaced as you kill them. The strength and weakness thing seems a bit pointless too, as every fight I've had eventually just boils down to me twatting every captain with my sword until dead, and there's no penalty for not splitting their weaknesses.

Is it possible to overthrow the strongholds and remove orcs from areas of the map, or am I supposed to spend all my time sneaking about having to avoid orcs all the time?

Uncharted 2

Never play this before. Nathan is a muss murdering psycho!

Knoyleo wrote:Was playing a bit more Shadow of Mordor and I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. There's no sense of progression, especially as captains are repeatedly replaced as you kill them. The strength and weakness thing seems a bit pointless too, as every fight I've had eventually just boils down to me twatting every captain with my sword until dead, and there's no penalty for not splitting their weaknesses.

Is it possible to overthrow the strongholds and remove orcs from areas of the map, or am I supposed to spend all my time sneaking about having to avoid orcs all the time?

It does all seem a bit pointless I agree. That said Mordor does work well for me as a hangover game. Don't have to think about it too much and it can be fun spending a few hours sneaking around killing Orcs until I feel ready to tackle something a bit more involved.

Got Shovel Knight super duper collection turbo thing for Switch. Initial impressions are great - lovely music and graphical stylings and tight gamefeel.

The sudden drop and lack of forward momentum on the jumping will take some getting used to, though.

I'm hoping this will fill the satisfying-2D-platformer hole that Shantae failed to :'(

Just beaten Ornstein & Smough (only took 2 attempts too...) in Dark Souls and I think I might be at 'sod it' point, as I have no idea where to go and what to do, nor do I have the inclination to waste hours of trial-and-error finding out. Stupid game.

Johnny Jalfrezi wrote:Just beaten Ornstein & Smough (only took 2 attempts too...) in Dark Souls and I think I might be at 'sod it' point, as I have no idea where to go and what to do, nor do I have the inclination to waste hours of trial-and-error finding out. Stupid game.

It's alright, the game kinda isn't anywhere near as good as it was after that fight.

Can't be strawberry floated with Ass Creed Unity anymore. Played about half of it. It's dogshit for numerous reasons. Runs like crap. Controls are even shittier than the previous games. Input lag. Pointless crowds getting in the way everywhere, making the framerate turn to utter crap. Rubbish stealth. Bad camera in places.

I hope Syndicate is better

Squinty wrote:

Johnny Jalfrezi wrote:Just beaten Ornstein & Smough (only took 2 attempts too...) in Dark Souls and I think I might be at 'sod it' point, as I have no idea where to go and what to do, nor do I have the inclination to waste hours of trial-and-error finding out. Stupid game.

It's alright, the game kinda isn't anywhere near as good as it was after that fight.

Can't be strawberry floated with Ass Creed Unity anymore. Played about half of it. It's dogshit for numerous reasons. Runs like crap. Controls are even shittier than the previous games. Input lag. Pointless crowds getting in the way everywhere, making the framerate turn to utter crap. Rubbish stealth. Bad camera in places.

I hope Syndicate is better

Syndicate is better but the dude character is an absolute f**king spoon!