WHAT PLAY YOU!? Version 3.0

[Merzbow]

Old World Blues is easily the best New Vegas DLC but none of the others really hold up.

Dead Money had such potential but yeah, the gameplay just doesn't work and makes things more annoying than anything.

[seph]

FF14. Half an hour after this clip, only 500 spots fell.

[Jesse]

Are you subscribed or on the free trial? For the launch window they're prioritising access for paid subs so anyone doing the free trial is gonna be locked out unless they're lucky.

[seph]

5 minutes ago, Jesse said:

Are you subscribed or on the free trial? For the launch window they're prioritising access for paid subs so anyone doing the free trial is gonna be locked out unless they're lucky.

Subscribed, and paid for early access,

[Jesse]

Oof. I've played everything from the original 1.0 beta up to halfway through Shadowbringers and I get the impression that Endwalker is bigger than any release they've had before. Sounds grim, hopefully the wueus settle down soon.

[The King Of Swing]

It's a bit of mess regardless of being paid or trial and will probably remain that way for a while. 

Apparently SE have had trouble upgrading their servers (supply issues and covid I think) following the recent big influx of players and on top of that EU servers haven't really been a priority. 

I've had decent luck getting into the game early in the morning but once traffic picks up it's pure luck of the draw.

Hell 1,300 isn't too bad compared to others, got stuck in a 9,000+ queue last night and called it quits.

Edited December 5, 2021 by The King Of Swing

[seph]

28 minutes ago, The King Of Swing said:

Hell 1,300 isn't too bad compared to others, got stuck in a 9,000+ queue last night and called it quits.

As was I, between 7 and 10:15 when it finally popped.

edit: in after 1hr 45min.

Edited December 5, 2021 by seph

[Merzbow]

10 minutes ago, The King Of Swing said:

 

Hell 1,300 isn't too bad compared to others, got stuck in a 9,000+ queue last night and called it quits.

Over nine thousand? Damn.

[Weezenal]

I haven't done a race or challenge or anything exciting in Forza Horizon 5, but I have been down all 578 roads. I need a life.

[PunkStep]

Have you played the Lego DLC for Horizon 4 @johnnyboy? It's ace

Haven't got round to playing Horizon 5 yet because still got so much to do in 4 and enjoying it so much still. Love the setting of the English countryside, as I go tearing through the streets of Edinburgh in my Robin Reliant. 

[Keith Houchen]

My girlfriend got the cheevo for driving on every road but there was an in game challenge for every road that said she was at 99.7%. She had to zoom in on the map and meticulously search for the tiny bit that was still greyed. She wasn’t happy!

[Onyx2]

The write-up you didn't ask for, what I've been playing all year.

I rung in the New Year by completing Last of Us Part II (I love having a game to enjoy over a break from work). It's magical, a real high point of storytelling in gaming. When I think back on it nearly a year ago I have a profound sadness due to how it all plays out but the characters do exactly what they should do. I've also never seen such great facial animations - the acting just done through the face is simply outstanding. 

I got stuck into Control from PS Plus. The map design is horrendous and a little more narrative context wouldn't hurt but it's a great romp using your psychic powers. I never finished it so it's one I need to get back to.

After watching a playthrough I decided to go back and replay Resident Evil 4 yet again. I own it on Gamecube, Wii and now PS4. I played it through twice on the bounce to get the ridiculous guns. And it's still trashy, hilarious fun. It's sooooo stupid but the best in the series. "Meeeeeester Kennedy..."

Ten years late I finally did a proper Skyrim playthrough. Of course it's brilliant and the range of things you can do is superb fun. I just realised, I created two characters and played dozens of hours with them but didn't finish the game with either. But it doesn't matter, just running around a Bethesda map never gets old.

I tried Star Wars Squadrons VR which should technically be my perfect game but it's so fucking dull.

Spent a whole month on Everybody's Golf which reminds me of the perfect PSP game. The serenity of nailing these courses is a great way to pass time. Amazingly even the online element is still alive. The albatross competitions are frightening.

And then I played some David Cage: 

Streets of Rage 4 dropped their magnificent DLC over the summer. Adding the endless stage rush mode was great, and the drive to keep getting better and better is absolutely magnetic. Well worth your time if you haven't picked it up.

I finally got around to God of War. I was mostly disappointed. The old GOW games were furious hack and slash combo botherers, effusive teenage indulgences. But this was a plodding, gated map explorer. The combat was deeply unsatisfying, it needed the brutal button mashing that defined the series. Instead it aimed at Arkham's measured controls and fell way short. And fuck all that shit RPG levelling up mechanic, dumping you with a million things to upgrade and no real guidance for how it would help. It stunk of a game being told it had to have all the current bells and whistles but it diluted the overall experience. Story was fine.

And then we get to Dark Souls which uses up the rest of my year. I tried Demon's Souls 8 years ago and it didn't click. But after sitting round with some mates desperate to play Elden Ring, I was convinced to try Dark Souls Remastered. Yes, it's difficult. But never unfair. Dying is always your fault. Two main things drive this game: art history. Rather than blasting you with plot, you can infer so much from item descriptions, and just the overall design of the architecture. What did this place used to be? What happened here? And the other thing is level design. After plodding away for hours you loop round to a ladder and suddenly find yourself back where you started and the whole place collapses in on itself and simultaneously opens up. It's genuine genius how the map spirals back in (when I struggle to sleep, I pick two places on the map and work my way there is my head using all the shortcuts I can think of). You chip away at a level, and the exhilaration at killing a boss is unbeatable. It's a masterpiece and I'm gutted it took me this long to get into.

I'm currently working through Dark Souls 2 Scholar of the First Sin which is clearly cut from the same cloth but equally not designed by the same team. There's lots to enjoy but sometimes you don't think they fully grasped what made it great. You get ambushed a lot, and the stamina drain feels unfair.

(I have bought Dark Souls 3 but not trying it until 2 is done)

[Jazzy G]

21 hours ago, Keith Houchen said:

My girlfriend got the cheevo for driving on every road but there was an in game challenge for every road that said she was at 99.7%. She had to zoom in on the map and meticulously search for the tiny bit that was still greyed. She wasn’t happy!

I had to do that in 2. I haven't managed it in 3 or 4. I think a lot of people haven't been enjoying 5. I didn't like 4 as much as 3. The story of you being the one organising the festival have good impetus to keep pushing on, whereas 4 felt like they were trying to go down the "live service" route. 

[Ironic Indie Lad]

One of the biggest releases of the year tomorrow - Halo Infinite!

Anyone got any hype?

I was a huge fan of the first 2 games. They were enough to justify the OG Xbox alone. I truly do not even want to think about how many hours me and my friends put into Halo 2 split screen 4 player. I pretty much went straight from constant Goldeneye with my brother and cousin in the 90s to constant Halo with my friends in the 00s. Still, a lot of good memories of lugging the huge original Xbox (the beautiful transparent model) and controllers round to whoever's house we were hanging out at and just playing for hours on end. 

Onto the 360 and to be honest, 3 never really clicked with me. The multiplayer was good but the campaign was lacking. I think around that time I was way more enamoured with Gears. I didn't even really bother with ODST but Halo Reach had one of the best FPS campaigns ever in my opinion and had a genuinely memorable, superbly executed ending.

I didn't bother with 4 or 5 as both were during my gaming hiatus. When I got back into gaming I went with a PS4. I gather both were at best flawed and at worst massive misfires though.

Everything I am reading about Infinite suggests its heavily inspired by Halo: CE but with some open world elements - thankfully it seems like its more tightly focused, mid sized open areas rather than enormous Ubisoft style maps.

I genuinely cant wait. Roll on 6pm tomorrow when it unlocks on Game Pass.

[Mr_Danger]

Far less enthused since I heard that there’s no co-op until May. Not a big lover of fps but I have time for Halo based solely from Halo 1. Hopefully the gameplay is enough to carry me through as I have no intention of learning all the lore and understanding the story so far.