What Are you Playing Now & General Game Discussions

[Stewy]

(02-10-2023, 08:18 PM)Millhouse Wrote: Ive been playing Hogwarts Legacy since Tuesday, and it's 'brilliant' as our English friends would say. I cant believe how very few bugs there are with it at launch. I've been so used to buggy games at launch for years now, this one breaks that mold which is so nice. But it's definitely solid, like a 9/10 solid so far.

(02-13-2023, 09:09 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: nice i have a few friends speaking highly of it as well...  im waiting on it as i have a ton of games im playing already. 

But from what i hear if you are a harry potter fan you should be checking this one out.


Last gen versions come out in june i believe and switch maybe even later...

I Dld it.  Going to start playing it this week.  Excellent to Exceptional reviews.

[XenoMorph]

Dead Island 2 just got a Reverse Delay... Move up its launch date but 1 week to 4.21.23

[basballguy]

So how do y'all stay interested in games? I know some of you are completionists and it probably isn't a problem for you but as I get older I find it harder and harder to immerse myself in games to where i actually care about the story...so I keep going back to roguelike games or games with no real story...like say Civ 6 or sports games.

Thinking back, the last game I really cared about the story for was Starcraft 2 (all 3 releases) but probably because I enjoyed SC1 so much. I'm sure I'll enjoy the Diablo story when it comes out.

Like for instance, Chained Echos (recommended here, which i enjoy playing) i find myself just fast forwarding through the dialogs because it just doesn't seem interesting to me.

Maybe this is just an "I'm Old" post.....

[Stewy]

(02-17-2023, 09:30 PM)basballguy Wrote: So how do y'all stay interested in games?  I know some of you are completionists and it probably isn't a problem for you but as I get older I find it harder and harder to immerse myself in games to where i actually care about the story...so I keep going back to roguelike games or games with no real story...like say Civ 6 or sports games.  

Thinking back, the last game I really cared about the story for was Starcraft 2 (all 3 releases) but probably because I enjoyed SC1 so much.  I'm sure I'll enjoy the Diablo story when it comes out.  

Like for instance, Chained Echos (recommended here, which i enjoy playing) i find myself just fast forwarding through the dialogs because it just doesn't seem interesting to me.  

Maybe this is just an "I'm Old" post.....

53 here and still get engrossed in stories.  I am a completionist, but when I get bored of "completing" stuff, I'll go move the story along.  Used to be I would do everything I could until there was nothing but story left.  You mention Starcraft, but I don't care about the story in any games but RPGs.  If a non-RPG has a decent story, then fine, but for me it isn't required.  I only judge RPGs by the story.

Frankly if you're worried about skipping the stories in FPS and RTS games and worrying about it, I wouldn't.  Bth of those genres are about gameplay first second and third, and story 4th.

[Stewy]

Update on Hogwarts Legacy:

So I finally started playing it and it really is fantastic. It probably has the best prologue I've experienced in a RPG since Mass Effect 2. It took a while to make it outside of Hogwarts into the open area, but outside of the castle it a classic open world RPG. The quests and side quests are done very well and remind me a lot of Witcher 3, where even though you're always using your Witcher sense (in this case spells), you use them in very different ways.

Casting spells is constantly satisfying. The graphics are astounding. On a recent side quest where a Gryphondor acquaintance (Im Hufflepuff) wanted to speak to me in private outside of the castle, I had to exit out of the South of the Castle, and I stopped dead to take in the scene......the South of the Castle is a recreation of the scene from the third movie where you go down a steep slope down to Hagrid's hut. It was astounding. It was like being in the movie, minus the fact that it's set 100+ years in the past.

They do an excellent job honoring the movies, but not so much the books. This is WB and JKR has nothing to do with it, so that shouldn't be a huge surprise, but my point essentially is if you like the movies, you'll get some extra kicks out of the game because many of the environments, inside and outside of Hogwarts are right from the movies.

[basballguy]

(02-17-2023, 10:27 PM)Stewy Wrote: 53 here and still get engrossed in stories.  I am a completionist, but when I get bored of "completing" stuff, I'll go move the story along.  Used to be I would do everything I could until there was nothing but story left.  You mention Starcraft, but I don't care about the story in any games but RPGs.  If a non-RPG has a decent story, then fine, but for me it isn't required.  I only judge RPGs by the story.

Frankly if you're worried about skipping the stories in FPS and RTS games and worrying about it, I wouldn't.  Bth of those genres are about gameplay first second and third, and story 4th.

I didn’t mention any FPS (don’t play those). StarCraft, in my opinion, was an anomaly when it comes to stories but Blizzard games used to always carry a good story….the Warcraft story was so good it spawned probably the greatest MMO we will ever see.

But more on topic, I am referring to RPGs (I mentioned Chained Echos as an example).

Again it could just be me, but I’m fishing to see if anyone is in the same boat.

[CKwi88]

(02-18-2023, 08:10 AM)basballguy Wrote: I didn’t mention any FPS (don’t play those).  StarCraft, in my opinion, was an anomaly when it comes to stories but Blizzard games used to always carry a good story….the Warcraft story was so good it spawned probably the greatest MMO we will ever see.

But more on topic, I am referring to RPGs (I mentioned Chained Echos as an example).  

Again it could just be me, but I’m fishing to see if anyone is in the same boat.

Absolutely, and I even agree on Chained Echoes. Lots of button mashing to just get to the next bit of gameplay, which is really what I look for now rather than story. I think it is just part of gaming as an adult because even if I go back and look at some of my all-time favorite games, very few of them really stand out for the story. The ones I keep going back to are for the gameplay, and I'd even lump Starcraft into that. 

I've experienced it most recently with the newest Fire Emblems. I've been a FE fan since as long as they've done the fan translation ROMs of the Japan-only releases here in the west. While Engage's story is bland and the characters meh (don't even get me started on female characters in Fire Emblems) the gameplay is airtight and on my subsequent playthroughs I am making good use of the + Button skip scene feature. What gets me so immersed into Fire Emblems are the mechanics and route/character/team planning from the gameplay, rather than a cookie cutter fantasy story. 

I think just as you get older the fantastical stories aren't as appealing as much as when you're younger. I'd even go further than Stewy and say that gameplay is king even when it comes to RPGs. A good story doesn't hurt of course, but if a game has good gameplay it can make up for it. A personal favorite of mine, Final Fantasy XII, is a great example. The story/characters are little more than a rehashed mashup of Disney's greatest hits, but it had some of the most innovative and compelling gameplay in the series. 

TLDR: Yup, we're getting old, and now we look for gameplay to get immersed into a game rather than a story. 

[XenoMorph]

(02-17-2023, 09:30 PM)basballguy Wrote: So how do y'all stay interested in games?  I know some of you are completionists and it probably isn't a problem for you but as I get older I find it harder and harder to immerse myself in games to where i actually care about the story...so I keep going back to roguelike games or games with no real story...like say Civ 6 or sports games.  

Thinking back, the last game I really cared about the story for was Starcraft 2 (all 3 releases) but probably because I enjoyed SC1 so much.  I'm sure I'll enjoy the Diablo story when it comes out.  

Like for instance, Chained Echos (recommended here, which i enjoy playing) i find myself just fast forwarding through the dialogs because it just doesn't seem interesting to me.  

Maybe this is just an "I'm Old" post.....

i feel you... I have been gaming a long time and i definitely have lost interest in some things after a while everything is just a clone of something else or a mashup of 2 previous things.

If it doesnt have a great story or a Great gameplay loop its hard to stay invested.  ones that have both are hard to put down

[CKwi88]

Apparently Microsoft and Nintendo signed a deal to bring XBox games to the Switch, including the CoD franchise (apparently that's a big deal).

No idea how that will go considering the Switch's technical inferiorities, but if the next gen Nintendo console comes out in the next year or so could be neat.

[XenoMorph]

(02-21-2023, 11:09 AM)CKwi88 Wrote: Apparently Microsoft and Nintendo signed a deal to bring XBox games to the Switch, including the CoD franchise (apparently that's a big deal).

No idea how that will go considering the Switch's technical inferiorities, but if the next gen Nintendo console comes out in the next year or so could be neat.

This deal is depending on the ABK purchase going thru....  
Part of sonys complaint is that MS would take CoD away from Playstation so MS offered 10 year deals to Nintendo, Steam, PS  to drive home that was not their plan.

But Switch's Cloud gaming is getting better... I Hope they announce Switch 2 soon or it might be hard to MS to make that work as well Switch players will want lol.

[CKwi88]

(02-21-2023, 11:57 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: This deal is depending on the ABK purchase going thru....  
Part of sonys complaint is that MS would take CoD away from Playstation so MS offered 10 year deals to Nintendo, Steam, PS  to drive home that was not their plan.

But Switch's Cloud gaming is getting better... I Hope they announce Switch 2 soon or it might be hard to MS to make that work as well Switch players will want lol.

I think Microsoft is accepting that they've lost the console (hardware) war and looking to get their software on as many platforms as possible. Rumors have it that they offered Game Pass to Switch but were turned down, because Nintendo. 

[XenoMorph]

(02-21-2023, 01:15 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: I think Microsoft is accepting that they've lost the console (hardware) war and looking to get their software on as many platforms as possible. Rumors have it that they offered Game Pass to Switch but were turned down, because Nintendo. 

Well MS has always been a Software Company lol...  they will continue to produce xboxs.  But they have a bigger picture in mind now.  As Console market is Niche these days (maybe less than 20% of all gamers combining all 3 major platforms) and most gamers play on Mobile/PC.

MS Changed the Console War (cause they couldnt win the traditional way) when they Released gamepass lol

There goal is to make most games available to as many places as possible for best RoI

Gamepass is coming to MetaQuest this year as well.

[Stewy]

(02-21-2023, 01:15 PM)CKwi88 Wrote: I think Microsoft is accepting that they've lost the console (hardware) war and looking to get their software on as many platforms as possible. Rumors have it that they offered Game Pass to Switch but were turned down, because Nintendo.  

(02-21-2023, 01:37 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: Well MS has always been a Software Company lol...  they will continue to produce xboxs.  But they have a bigger picture in mind now.  As Console market is Niche these days (maybe less than 20% of all gamers combining all 3 major platforms) and most gamers play on Mobile/PC.

MS Changed the Console War (cause they couldnt win the traditional way) when they Released gamepass lol

There goal is to make most games available to as many places as possible for best RoI

Gamepass is coming to MetaQuest this year as well.

I agree.  The console wars are a thing of the past.  Gamepass has left SONY in the dust and their version of it is pathetically inferior.  Anyone thinking there is a console war is already left in MS' dust.  

Here's a couple of great examples:
#1 - Persona 5 Royal was a Sony exclusive for a number of years.  Their release on XBOX in the fall coincided with the next Gen console enhancements.  ATLUS wanted FULL price to take advantage of the graphic enhancements, plu3 P4 Golden and P3 portable.  One XBOX gamepass, I've been playing all for not a dime extra.

#2 - In reference to the above, almost all PS5 enhanced games cost you more (5-10$) for the enchantments.  On XBOX you pay 0$.



MS has sprinted so fast past SONY, that SONY is still looking behind it, not knowing it's already been passed.

FYI - I have both a PS5 and Series X......the PS5 just collects dust.  I'l go back to it for something, but I don't know what.

p.s. - The stats suggesting only 20% of gamers play on console, is really strange.  I'm a member of a 90,000 Mass Effect Facebook Group.  I have seen several polls asking people what they play on, and the last one was 38% XBOX, 32% PS and 30% PC with only 30% of the PC players mod'ing.  Statistically speaking these usually get over 10,000 responses (it is a very good and active group - highly mod'd to keep the trolls out), so I am very surprised that it is so different.  The group is extremely diverse.  They aren't just Bioware fans.  Many are fans of other genres, but just love ME.  Like people will list their top 5 played games for the year and many have ME as the only RPG on the list.  So that 20% is a very unexpected number for me.

[XenoMorph]

(02-21-2023, 03:26 PM)Stewy Wrote: I agree.  The console wars are a thing of the past.  Gamepass has left SONY in the dust and their version of it is pathetically inferior.  Anyone thinking there is a console war is already left in MS' dust.  

Here's a couple of great examples:
#1 - Persona 5 Royal was a Sony exclusive for a number of years.  Their release on XBOX in the fall coincided with the next Gen console enhancements.  ATLUS wanted FULL price to take advantage of the graphic enhancements, plu3 P4 Golden and P3 portable.  One XBOX gamepass, I've been playing all for not a dime extra.

#2 - In reference to the above, almost all PS5 enhanced games cost you more (5-10$) for the enchantments.  On XBOX you pay 0$.



MS has sprinted so fast past SONY, that SONY is still looking behind it, not knowing it's already been passed.

FYI - I have both a PS5 and Series X......the PS5 just collects dust.  I'l go back to it for something, but I don't know what.

p.s. - The stats suggesting only 20% of gamers play on console, is really strange.  I'm a member of a 90,000 Mass Effect Facebook Group.  I have seen several polls asking people what they play on, and the last one was 38% XBOX, 32% PS and 30% PC with only 30% of the PC players mod'ing.  Statistically speaking these usually get over 10,000 responses (it is a very good and active group - highly mod'd to keep the trolls out), so I am very surprised that it is so different.  The group is extremely diverse.  They aren't just Bioware fans.  Many are fans of other genres, but just love ME.  Like people will list their top 5 played games for the year and many have ME as the only RPG on the list.  So that 20% is a very unexpected number for me.

around 20-30% for console gamers.... i believe  The % might be higher if just considering the USA but worldwide out of 3 billion Gamers  (the console market is kinda capped as far as who is investing)

https://financesonline.com/number-of-gamers-worldwide/

or at least its kinda the Thought.

Every Generation maybe around 300 mil or less total consoles get sold between Xbox PS and Nintendo.  With PS and Nintendo leading the way there and they are longer established  (and some of those multiple to people like me lol)   *multiple xboxs a switch etc...*

[XenoMorph]

MS has now signed 10 year deals with Nintendo (for CoD parity) (didnt say for switch)

And Nvidia Who will get access to the Xbox PC games for their streaming service

Steam declined the deal as they trust MS word

[XenoMorph]

Playstation had a state of play yesterday... I believe mostly VR and a few other games

https://blog.playstation.com/2023/02/23/state-of-play-february-2023-all-trailers-and-complete-recap/

Baldurs gate 3 has a release date of 8/31 now for PC/PS 5 no xbox date yet.

[XenoMorph]

ELDEN RING just announce its DLC   "Shadow of the ERD Tree"   No other info was given.
https://www.trueachievements.com/n53017/elden-ring-dlc-shadow-of-the-erdtree

Paradox entertainment has a small showcase on 3/6 12:00 PM EST
https://www.trueachievements.com/n53022/paradox-interactive-xbox-showcase

OuterWorlds is getting a new enhanced version or if you own game and all DLC can purchase the upgrade.  3/7
https://www.trueachievements.com/n53011/outer-worlds-spacers-choice-edition-xbox-upgrade

Pathfinder wrath of the righteous has a new dlc on 3/7

MK12 was announced at an earnings meeting with a 2023 release date.  (No date)



Xbox should be announcing starfield showcase soon. (i will post)

And apparently Forspoken did so bad for Square they have dissolved the studio  (square is hurting bad i think only FF14 is keeping them afloat)

[Housh]

Been stuck on Madden and 2k recently


Started Resident Evil 8 a while ago and just beat the big sexy zombie chick. Fun game so far.




Play Pokémon when i work my second job pretty fun

But the mains are still the mains. Madden and 2k rule supreme in the Housh household

[XenoMorph]

Big games releasing this month (i probly missed some)

Wo Long Fallen Dynasty
Resident evil 4 Remaster
MLB the Show 23
Last of us 1 PC release
WWE 2K23
System Shock Remake

[XenoMorph]

High on Life just released a patch fixing a whole host of issues.. including the one that had my game stuck on infinite loading...

will get to finish this weekend.

Also i believe AC Valhalla either recently released a final patch or has one coming soon to fix a few bugs.. (like the river raid questline)