What games did you play today?

[Draevyn]

I redownloaded Path of Exile to give it one more shot and man, either this game is hard or I just suck at this type of game because I deleted it again out of frustration.

[Skummy]

I was in Jersey over the weekend, and I tend to pick up games while I'm there - they have a small games shop that tends to put stuff on offer pretty quickly if it's not selling well, and combined with no VAT there means that games are generally cheaper there if I want a physical copy of something. I got Sonic Origins Plus, because I'm a sucker for playing the same games I've always played.

It's fun enough, with some weird choices - there's 14 Game Gear games on there, and for those that were also released on Master System, I don't know why they went with emulating the tiny Game Gear screen versions rather than the prettier, bigger MS version; maybe because they have a better GG emulator (and there are more GG Sonic games than MS ones, so it would just be for a handful of games), or because the Game Gear was a bigger deal in Japan? 

Beyond that, there's some odd choices. In the Game Gear collection we get Sonic Labyrinth (basically an 8-bit version of Sonic 3D), Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, and Sonic Spinball, but we don't get the superior Mega Drive/Genesis versions of those games. In the "Museum", you can see the artwork for Knuckles Chaotix on the 32X, and that's not in the game either. Unless they're planned to be added as future DLC, it seems an odd choice to say "look what you could have had!". There's other games I'd like to have seen included, but they're more deep cuts (and I can hardly complain as the world's only Tails Adventure fan to have another opportunity to play that game), it's just odd to have the others sort of in there.

 

Some of the quality of life improvements are fine - being able to play as all four characters across all the main games is nice (though Amy is a bit pointless, I still did a Sonic 1 playthrough as her), and being able to do a proper spindash on Sonic 1 is a very welcome addition. Being able to spend coins to retry Special Stages is excellent.

It might be because I have no nostalgia attached to it, but I don't get Sonic CD at all. The level design is ugly, the time travel mechanic is clunky and the levels don't have enough character about them to care about the switch from past to future, and I've had dental procedures more fun than the special stages. Amazed that it got positive reviews across the board on release.

[Benji]

As someone who played Sonic CD back in the day, it's not just you. It's an ugly addition to the Sonic franchise, but the base gameplay is principally the same, so it's still enjoyable. Its biggest gift to the Sonic universe is Metal Sonic, which in the Fleetway Sonic comics was one of my favourite villains, and I still refer to it as Metallix.

[Skummy]

7 minutes ago, Benji said:

 I still refer to it as Metallix.

Metallix, Dr. Robotnik, and I'll be dead in my grave before I call him anything but Nack The Weasel.

[Benji]

16 minutes ago, Skummy said:

Metallix, Dr. Robotnik, and I'll be dead in my grave before I call him anything but Nack The Weasel.

I didn't even know Nack went by any other name!

[Skummy]

2 minutes ago, Benji said:

I didn't even know Nack went by any other name!

he's "officially" either Fang The Sniper or Fang The Hunter. 

[Benji]

11 minutes ago, Skummy said:

he's "officially" either Fang The Sniper or Fang The Hunter. 

When they can't even keep Robotnik as Robotnik, I refuse to acknowledge this. How will the wholesome Dr Kintobor be Dr Kintobor if his evil mutated version is not Dr Robotnik?

What's he gonna be? Dr Namgge? That just doesn't sit right.

[stokeriño]

Was it just me who thought the Sonic 1 Special Stages in Origins were about 10x harder than they were originally? Just...a hell of a lot more slippery and chaotic?

(Sonic 2's Special Stages, on the other hand, are actually slightly easier because you get more depth of vision now.)

[Not Henry Cavill]

Been going between Starfield and Forza Motorsport. Motorsport seems a bit more forgiving than previous versions, at least with a gamepad. Starfield has hooked me way more than I thought it would. Got my character looking a lot like Lonestar so that’s neat. 

[Schlitzbrille]

Back to Fire Pro Wrestling World and simming a few Stardom matches.
Haven't bothered with either set of tag titles because I haven't added to the Stardom roster beyond the DLC and this will be reset once I bother with that but best thing so far this timeline was a Saki Kashima victory over Kagetsu for the World of Stardom Championship the other day, which nearly happened again during the most recent defense.

[GhostMachine]

Marvel Snap and Champions Online, both via Steam. Blood Moon, aka CO's Halloween event, just started, and its my favorite seasonal event of the year. Burned out on Star Trek Online, don't want to play any of my other games and can't afford to buy anything right now due to current financial problems.

[BuddyAwesome]

Assassin's Creed Mirage. It's a great blend of the original style games mixed with new era elements. It looks stunning as these games always do, and it's been a ton of fun to play thus far. 

[stokeriño]

Started up Star Trek: Infinite last night. It is in virtually every sense Stellaris with a ST skin, but I'm a sucker for licensed IP and I have fond memories of Star Trek: Birth of the Federation, so I'm not all that fussed about that.

My same issues remain from what I previously played only a very small amount of Stellaris, I.E. I don't know what I'm doing and can't resource manage to save my life. 😂 Still, enjoying it on some level nonetheless.

(A mysterious "gigantic cubic structure moving through space" has been spotted. Please excuse me while I start panicking.)

[Schlitzbrille]

On 12/10/2023 at 23:26, Schlitzbrille said:

Back to Fire Pro Wrestling World and simming a few Stardom matches.
Haven't bothered with either set of tag titles because I haven't added to the Stardom roster beyond the DLC and this will be reset once I bother with that but best thing so far this timeline was a Saki Kashima victory over Kagetsu for the World of Stardom Championship the other day, which nearly happened again during the most recent defense.

Running a 16-woman (at the time of the Stardom DLC releasing) round robin tournament because I reset it all.

Block A final standings:

• Starlight Kid (12 pts)
• Giulia (10 pts)
• Hana Kimura (10 pts)
• Mayu Iwatani (8 pts)
• Saki Kashima (4 pts) (literally playing favorites here can't be assed at the moment to work out who goes where properly , victories were over AZM and Kagetsu)
• Utami Hayashishita (4 pts) (victories over Kashima and Kagetsu)
• AZM (4 pts) (victories over Utami and Kagetsu)
• Kagetsu (4 pts) (victories over Starlight Kid and Iwatani)

Block B:

• Tam Nakano
• Konami
• Andras Miyagi
• Bea Priestley
• Jungle Kyona
• Momo Watanabe
• Natsuko Tora
• Hazuki

 

Block B tomorrow

[stokeriño]

Finally caved and bought Ghost Trick (having played the demo a while back). This should act as some indication of how well Star Trek: Infinite is (not) holding my attention. 😂

[TheGrandAvatar]

Been playing State of Decay 2.

Like it a lot better than the 1st game, and what 2 was like when it launched. The patches they've done and features added over time have made it a lot better than it felt in 2018. Slowly building up a base and collecting resources. We have enough outposts to bring in ammo, medical, food and parts. 

On 13/10/2023 at 09:13, stokeriño said:

My same issues remain from what I previously played only a very small amount of Stellaris, I.E. I don't know what I'm doing and can't resource manage to save my life. 😂 Still, enjoying it on some level nonetheless.

That was my issue with Stellaris and Surviving The Aftermath too. Resources.

It's funny that both game's are from the same company and yet it's the same problem for me. Resources and trying to expand to quickly, or not knowing what to focus on.

Have an eye on the Star Trek game. Might check a few streams out, or video's on it before I purchase it. 

[TheGrandAvatar]

Had my first taste of the blood plague in State of Decay 2. It's not fun.

Was scouting for medicine for another group of survivors, and while searching accidentally made a noise. This attracted what was around. About five zombies. So had to shoot them to take at least two out and even the odds. My character was knackered. Whacked the remaining three and just had the stamina for that. Great I thought. Job done. Medicine on my back. However. Realised the gunshots had attracted a group of blood plague zombies. Had to run past them to the truck and get out of there. Luckily made the medicine drop off and back to base for the treatment and was able to cure okay due to having made some blood plague vaccines from collection of samples and a good supply of medicine and a decent infirmary. Was able to trade some away for a few items and mods we needed on the base. 

[Bobfoc]

I beat something called Morgott in Elden Ring. I had to be at about double the recommended level, and with the best equipment available, but I did it after many tries. Apparently, it's one of the easiest bosses, so this will be a long, long slog if I'm ever going to finish the game.

[Skummy]

been playing Unpacking lately. It was free on PS+, and I picked it up as it's the kind of cosy game my girlfriend likes, and ended up playing it because I had a bit of time spare before having to head to the airport, and didn't want anything that would tax my brain too much.

I absolutely love it. It is relaxing, but for a game of just moving objects around with almost no text, and no visible characters, I found it surprisingly emotional. Each level is a new living space that the central character is moving into, and you get a real sense of the person you are just from the objects they own, what they take with them from each previous home, and what new additions get added to the mix. There's a run of like three levels that were an emotional rollercoaster for me.

[apsham]

The bit where 

Spoiler

She graduates and moves in with a boyfriend, but there's literally no way to put your diploma up on the wall.

Was a very good piece of storytelling that foreshadowed future events.