General Gaming Thread

[Liam]

48 minutes ago, Bobfoc said:

Shenmue and Shenmue II are coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC.

I have a feeling these won't go down well as I think they'll just seem hideously dated. 

However, it does support/generate interest for 3,so not surprised. 

[apsham]

Is going to be amazing to see people's reactions when Shenmue acutually comes out. I don't think there is a game that has aged worse.

[jrhodes]

I bought a Dreamcast a couple of years ago to play Shenmue because one of my friends was always banging on about how great it was.

It was one of the worst games I remember playing.

[Bobfoc]

I'll certainly be interested to read the reviews. I think the series' cult following will lead to a lot of people listening to the hype and being baffled as to why the games are so beloved by a small group of people.

Every time Sonic Adventure was re-released, its reviews became increasingly negative, with the controls, camera angles, voice acting and level design drawing more and more criticism as the years went on. This was, for all intents and purposes, the same game, but it gradually dawned on people that it was probably never as good as they liked to think it was.

If anything, Shenmue will be met with worse reactions because, being one of the first real open world games, it's going to look very primitive when compared with all the advancements that have taken place in that genre over the last fifteen years or so. Add to that the more than liberal use of quicktime events, which were new and fancy at the time but most people have since grown sick off, and you've got a game to which time hasn't been kind.

Still, the voice acting's funny.

[Rocky]

I still have shenmue II on Xbox just sitting there waiting to be finished. One of the first games I bought for it. Guess I could play it. 

[OctoberRaven]

Just finished a game of Civilization: Beyond Earth.

It's Civilization: But They're In Space!. Far from a reskin though, it has some mechanics that are complete game changers, such as how you upgrade unit types (tanks can be upgraded to FLYING TANKS, and yes they can fight over water) as well as enviromental strategies, like turning the miasma on your planet from poisonous fog to something that supercharges your troops and heals them per turn, and instead of barbarians, there's aliens, and there's strategies about how to handle them as well. For example you can do what I did, study them and incorporate them into your people's culture to the point where wild aliens outright ignore you. Oh, and you can customize how buildings work for you whaaaaat.

There are some drawbacks, all of the win conditions (besides the obligatory conquest and time limit ones) are all basically a different flavor of a Science victory as far as I can tell and there's only a handful of civs who are, well, not historical leaders.

The way tile improvements go is also pretty interesting and it looks like they were experimenting with how to revamp it for 6. Or at least that was the impression I got.

[Skummy]

For what it's worth, they've said that the Shenmue re-releases will have options for "classic or updated" controls, or words to that effect, so it looks like there may be the odd gameplay tweak to keep them updated.

I haven't played Shenmue 2, but played through Shenmue on the Dreamcast a couple of years ago, and found it endearingly odd rather than dated. Elements of it still felt hugely ambitious, rather than feeling dated, and no worse than some games today. I don't think it's aged that badly at all - for a 20 year old game, I'd say most of it holds up very well, especially compared to most of its contemporaries.

[OctoberRaven]

Skullgirls: It's no BlazBlue, but it's got it's charm.

[Colly]

I've added my PS2 to my N64 in my retro gaming zone (aka the little telly in my conservatory). Burnout 3 and SSX3 hold up ridiculously well, pushing back my need to buy a PS4 even further than ever... 

[Maxx]

Please be good.  I loooove the theme.

[Chris2K]

Beyond Two Souls is a free PS+ game this month, is it worth investing my bank holiday weekend in?

[JasonM]

On 04/05/2018 at 23:19, Chris2K said:

Beyond Two Souls is a free PS+ game this month, is it worth investing my bank holiday weekend in?

It's a good enjoyable game, on the shorter side, but it's much like the other Quantic dreams games where it's an interactive film more than a true game.

I'd say it's on par, maybe a bit better than Heavy Rain but less on the gameplay side.

[Benji]

Friday the 13th on PS4 tonight around 8 PM UK time til late, anyone?

[Kaney]

Need more of you to play Friday 13th with us so we don't get stuck with asshole trolls. I had some random guy block me into a corner for 5 straight minutes, him just crouching and staring at my ass. I think the expression says a lot.

[Ruki]

Dead Rising 4 is fun...but different.

[Benji]

Seriously, wish I had gotten F13 before. My first time as Jason I sucked and didn't get to finish the match because of server issues, but the second time I got all the counselors and the backup counselor. One might say I... killed it

[9 to 5]

4 minutes ago, Benji said:

Seriously, wish I had gotten F13 before. My first time as Jason I sucked and didn't get to finish the match because of server issues, but the second time I got all the counselors and the backup counselor. One might say I... killed it

Tell the class why you didn't. 😛

[Benji]

I legitimately don't remember what you are talking about :|

[probablyoliver]

Picking up Friday 13th when I get paid, so I'll be able to jump on with y'all from next Tuesday.

[9 to 5]

16 minutes ago, Benji said:

I legitimately don't remember what you are talking about :|

Confess. Confess!