WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 3.0

[Ironic Indie Lad]

I quite enjoyed Tunic but I still think Deaths Door is a better game. I preferred the art style and thought the combat was a bit more satisfying. There was also some pretty good humour in it.

I would also recommend giving Young Souls a look if you have Game Pass. Despite the word 'Souls' in the title its thankfully not yet another Dark Souls clone. Its more of a side scrolling beat em up meets action RPG in a somewhat-open world. Like the above, it has a nice art style and is really well written. It can be played cooperatively too. 

[Sphinx]

56 minutes ago, Ironic Indie Lad said:

I quite enjoyed Tunic but I still think Deaths Door is a better game. I preferred the art style and thought the combat was a bit more satisfying. There was also some pretty good humour in it.

I would also recommend giving Young Souls a look if you have Game Pass. Despite the word 'Souls' in the title its thankfully not yet another Dark Souls clone. Its more of a side scrolling beat em up meets action RPG in a somewhat-open world. Like the above, it has a nice art style and is really well written. It can be played cooperatively too. 

Ah, I didn't know about those so thanks for the heads up. I'll give Deaths Door a go after Tunic.

[waters44]

@scratchdj please let us know if there’s any way to watch your races live!

[Merzbow]

I'm playing Weird West right now, it's an isometric real time RPG with immersive sim elements set in a fictional Wild West. There's quite a bit of New Vegas about it, especially the writing and... the bugs.

It's on Gamepass on PC so probably also on Xbox, I'm using a controller to aim and it works pretty well.

 

[Accident Prone]

Bit of a weird'un, but can anyone recommend some online games that won't set off the IT department alarm bells at work? I'm back at the office now and can't just grab my VITA or fire up Worms Armageddon anymore, so this newfound boredom is killing me. Pre-pandemic, I used to play Geoguessr until they introduced the pay-to-play mechanic, and there was a cool version of Sim City lite that got dodgy when they started asking for your Google Drive account to save games.

So yeah, I'm bored and need games that I can come and go to without being hauled in for a meeting, please.

Edited April 26, 2022 by Accident Prone

[squatswithducks]

I remember a game back in the day that was basically run on an Excel spreadsheet (I think). Pretty sure it was like a football management type game. My memory is a bit hazy, but it was always perfect as a work game to pass a bit of time!  

[Keith Houchen]

1 minute ago, squatswithducks said:

I remember a game back in the day that was basically run on an Excel spreadsheet (I think). Pretty sure it was like a football management type game. My memory is a bit hazy, but it was always perfect as a work game to pass a bit of time!  

Got me through many a late shift that did!

[PunkStep]

I had that! About 17 years ago I reckon, 2005 I think I played it. The office I worked in was so dead that some days you could go an entire day without anybody uttering a word. That game kept me from falling asleep. 

[Merzbow]

myabandonware.com let's you play the smaller DOS games in a browser, including the old Champo 96/97 etc.

[TildeGuy~!]

Ps Plus games for May have been leaked by a French website.

Fifa 22, Tribes of Midgard and Curse Of The Dead Gods

 

[Lorne Malvo]

eFootball still not having an offline mode and Fifa 22 being on PS Plus might be what finally gets me to switch allegiances. Booting up that Fifa intro will be akin to Lex Luger strolling out on Nitro for me.

[Accident Prone]

2 hours ago, Merzbow said:

myabandonware.com let's you play the smaller DOS games in a browser, including the old Champo 96/97 etc.

Excellent! Time to relive my days of being a footy fan by taking the Villa squad all the way to the top! Mark Bosnich 4 life.

Also, I found this gem; http://jhollands.co.uk/spaceplan/

One of those games where you do stuff, minimise the window to do some actual work while it ticks along in the background, and then go back to it.

I'm back, baby...to procrastinating at work.

[Merzbow]

11 minutes ago, Accident Prone said:

Excellent! Time to relive my days of being a footy fan by taking the Villa squad all the way to the top! Mark Bosnich 4 life.

I bloody regret telling you now.

[Fatty Facesitter]

On 4/3/2022 at 11:52 PM, Devon Malcolm said:

Hey man, I do it every Christmas without fail. It's my Christmas treat! You got this.

I actually used to dread the really long drives but as I've got older I've actually come to enjoy them more. They're real anxiety killers.

 

On 4/3/2022 at 11:53 PM, PunkStep said:

If you don't finish San Andreas again on your mobile, having completed the other two, how will you live with yourself? You're going to have to do it I'm afraid. Follow that damn train.

Following on from my original reply to this - 

It took me three weeks in total, but finally nailed it. A delightful return to the state of San Andreas - 

- While my GTA III and VC stints were fun, when you're going for the 100% I do think some of the fun factor is stripped back as you go for some of the more mundane tasks and you perhaps appreciate the story a bit less. With San Andreas, even though there are way more side quests to complete, the cities feel so alive, the customisation options are numerous, and there's an incredible variety on display. Out of the three games, this one has been by far the most fun to revisit, when I thought previously it would be a real slog. Here's my early LS CJ complete with an afro and pornstar moustache. Ryder liked it. 

- I've moaned about the controls on the mobile for the previous games. However, that actually translates really well to this game. The characters and vehicles feel 'heavier' (if that's the right term) in this game, and that allows for more control with the mobile steering system. It wasn't perfect, but a marked improvement on the previous games.

- The respective cities feel so much more alive in comparison to Liberty City/Vice City, even before you get to all of the bonkers riot stuff in the final part of the story. Pedestrians randomly interact with you, and even each other. Recruiting gang members is a great touch for when you're trying to take over the territories (even though they're fucking useless in combat and keep running off). The size of the map is one thing, but there's something unique to be found in nearly every corner of it, even in the countryside and the desert. It's been said before but to retain this vibe and keep virtually the entire aesthetic from the original console versions - even improving it in some cases - is a remarkable feat for mobile. 

- Now then, the dreaded Chilliad Challenges. This is one of the side quests I really had to muster up the willpower to do. It's bloody awkward trekking up the mountain each time, and just fiddly doing them on the bikes generally. However, in the end I managed to knock out each challenge fairly quickly, though I do feel I've cheated the system a bit - in this mobile version, if you failed at the conclusion of a race, you are invited to 'return to the previous checkpoint' on the in-game menu. This consequently teleports you back to the beginning and you start the race again immediately. No arsing about on your bike having to traverse back to the top each time you've stacked it. On the final challenge, I completed this first time by a complete fluke - having stacked it on the bike several times, I still crossed the line in first place with the other riders absolutely nowhere to be seen. An odd, but welcome development. 

- The checkpoint system generally for missions was a real time-saver and helped maintain the enjoyment. Console gamers that don't have this option will scoff at such a notion at not sharing the same pain as the rest of them. But if I want to complete it handheld whilst sat on the throne and speed up the process, that's my right. 

- One of the only set of vehicles I found to be a bugger to control were the helicopters, specifically the Hunter. That's an absolute bugger to control with the analogue steering on mobile. The vigilante missions took me a good few goes because I just couldn't get it moving in different directions quick enough. 

- The story is varied, excellent and my favourite of the three. Each city/setting brings with it a different look and feel, and by the time you do get back to Los Santos, it really does feel like CJ has been on a huge journey, made it out of the 'hood and all of that. There's a few holes, i.e he seemingly forgets about Sweet for a lot of the middle portion, but it all eventually ties together and works really nicely. 

- Import/Export was simple enough - I didn't find this quite as fun as the collections required for III and Vice City, and fannying about with the crane was a bit tiresome at times, but generally speaking it was fun seeking them out. 

- All of the desert/Las Venturas business is fantastic, probably my favourite part of the game. The Toreno missions, the casino missions, the jetpack missions and exploring Area 51, all fantastic. The Jetpack generally was such a great way to get around, especially when covering off the Horseshoes and some of the final oysters. Great to see loads of cameos from the previous games as well like Salvatore, Kent Paul etc. 

- The final mission is fantastic. From starting by smashing a SWAT tank into a building, to clearing out four floors of baddies, the showdown with big smoke and then the cross-town chase where that mad bastard Sweet hangs on to the back of a firetruck, then the ensuring shootout and conclusion. Lovely stuff. 

I'm really, really glad I played this again. I may still come back to it this week on my days off and see if I can take over all of the gang territories for the lolz. 

I've tentatively looked at Liberty City and Vice City Stories, which are also available on the mobile, but I don't think I have those in me and the side quests just don't look as exciting, so I think I'll be giving those a miss. But a great journey back through these three classics. They still hold up. 

Edited April 27, 2022 by Fatty Facesitter

[Jazzy G]

On 4/26/2022 at 2:43 PM, Lorne Malvo said:

eFootball still not having an offline mode and Fifa 22 being on PS Plus might be what finally gets me to switch allegiances. Booting up that Fifa intro will be akin to Lex Luger strolling out on Nitro for me.

My mate in Colombia wants to get some FIFA on when it arrives next month. I think he wants to see whether we can grab some Scottish 2nd division side and drag them to the European elites. He usually picks Cowdenbeath if they're available. 

Got a £15 Nintendo voucher yesterday. Had a little extra credit/coins already on so I picked up Bugsnax. It's a fascinating game. I played an hour or so because I was knackered, but it was interesting enough. Picked up some Shark World thing as well, but I was half asleep before I could properly have a look at that, so couldn't make any sense of it. 

Edited May 1, 2022 by jazzygeofferz