Yeah Gareth reminds me on a regular basis as to why I don’t write for a living, and the worst/best part about that is that it’s entirely unintentional on his part .
I think my point was what was 'overdone', unless you feel the intention was just to 'add in' non straight relationships purely for some kind of box ticking exercise, why does it make any difference that there are lots of non straight relationships, if you wouldn't think it weird by most relationships being straight on an alien world then why think it weird/being done for some kind of purpose in another? You don't *need* a story focussed around sexuality, or race, it can just be those people and relationships existing in the world already created. The make more ugly thing most likely is a preference thing and who knows, most games don't model the main character on the voice actor as far as I'm aware so it's more that the Jedi Fallen Order/Survivor games are the outlier there I think? And as others have said Gareth of course said it better.
My point was more subtle and was about the purpose of arts and entertainment media, and what makes them good or bad, palatable or tiresome. It's the way it's done, not whether it's done. It probably deserves a thread, but it'd be an act of vandalism for me to make one because I know for a fact I'm too feckless to commit and actually stick around for the full debate. Too much going on these days. I think my original post on the subject says what I wanted it to, though, and the responses have talked past it and not really engaged with it, so I'm happy to leave it there. Nobody's fussed about the aspects of the issue that I'm fussed about, and that's okay.
AC Shadows After, what seemed like, a drawn out start it grew on me. It grew on me more and I blummin loved it. Then again I love hunting down multi faceted parts to games and just when you think it's done another set of targets send you off again. Loved that. Picked Claws of Awaji up on offer a little while back and polished that bit of fun off. Glad I did as that felt like the proper ending. Enjoyed it so much I'm now starting an NG+ as now I know the story I can have it in Japanese and not miss anything major. Managed to get every trophy going in the regular game, may as well finish it off in NG+;
Original Splinter Cell with the widescreen fix. I'd forgotten how brilliant this game is and how difficult it is. Was great fun 'relearning' pure stealth again. Bought all Splinter Cells a little while back for around £11 in a Steam sale so going through them in order. Early days in Pandora Tomorrow but you can see (and enjoy) the incremental improvements in graphics, gameplay etc. And of course the amazing voice acting from Michael Ironside etc Should keep me busy for some time to come.
Metro 2033 10/10 & Last Light 11/10 & Exodus 9.5/10 I had been putting off playing Exodus since it was released owing to the whole raytracing thing, and after having completed a few other games, it was time to take the plunge. But not before replaying the first two games! I was trying to figure out exactly why I like the series. After musing on it a while, I figured out what it was: charm. The games are each a labour of love, and it shows in the small details. For instance, looking up at a bit of twisted sheet metal on the ceiling of a dilapidated service lift, and noticing the sheet actually flexes when the lift moves. The Metro games are about taking your time over things, breathing in the story and atmosphere, imagining yourself in the same shoes as the protagonist: tired, hungry, and grimy from never having a chance to wash. If you're the kind of gamer who skips through cutscenes just to get back to murdering the enemy, give these games a WIDE berth (and also know I hold you in contempt). The graphics still hold up extremely well, and to be honest, I don't really think anything today looks that much better. These are also the only computer games that seem to actually do stealth well (at least for the most part). No enemy staring at you for a week wondering if your a person or not: any more than a fraction of a second being visible, and the enemies come down on you like a bulldozer. Then the game goes from patient sneaking to rapidly changing position, breaking visual contact and striking from different angles. Assuming you weren't killed outright when spotted. Metro 2033 starts off extremely strong, nailing the claustrophobic nature of a society living in the underground tunnels. I've recently started reading the first Metro novel, and the game does a wonderful job of translating the atmosphere intended. There is clear influences from the STALKER franchise, which makes a lot of sense when you read about the history of the development teams. Last Light takes 2033 and refines everything. The stealth flows better, the graphics have been polished and the morality system is far clearer. Metro Exodus brings the series outside and a bit of a graphics upgrade, but given the previous games were already excellent, there's not much in it. However, it feels genuinely a bit weird to not be in the comforting confines of a tunnel. There are several interesting encounters to be had: a technophoobic religious cult, an oil baron and his cronies, and so on. There is one location in particular that is absolutely excellent in its execution, but to reveal anything about it would be a massive spoiler and I really hope a lot of you go and play it. However, I have rated it a little less as it doesn't feel as ground breaking. Do I have any criticism of the games? I really can't remember anything bad. 2033 didn't have any boss fights, but given the game's nature, it doesn't really need any, and Last Light does introduce them. Perhaps the only annoying thing is that 2033's morality point system is quite esoteric and it is amazingly hard to get the "good" ending (something I still didn't achieve on this third playthrough). Maybe they shouldn't have bothered actually showing boobs in Last Light either as it comes across a bit awkward - something that was remedied in Exodus. So, as a summary, what are the Metro games? Premium slavjank that focusses on short but sweet gameplay. If you want a well crafted single player experience that only takes a few hours to complete, look no further. I'm looking very forward to Metro 2039, as well as reading the other novels. Hell, maybe one day I'll get back into VR and play Awakening...
Aliens Dark Descent: 7/10 (though maybe I'm being a tad generous because Aliens) Top down squad based action in the Alien universe. What's not to like? Send your not-so-fearless soldiers against one of the most terrifying creatures ever to grace the silver screen. An unusual add-on is monitoring the mental health of your troops: don't let them rest or subject them to relentless gunfights, and they'll start to crack. You can also withdraw and come back later if things are going south. In between missions, you see to healing your men, let the shrink work her magic, and research new weaponry. The story is not the greatest, but holds up okay enough. A mysterious container gets opened up on an orbital station by ne-er-do-wells and before you know it, you're looking after a bunch of stranded Colonial Marines on the crashed Otago, with a few days to get off the planet before nuclear sterilisation puts an end to everything. You won't just battle those pesky Giger monsters either - humans, synths...and more... Unfortunately the classes are not well balanced. The Scout and Sergeant classes are essential owing to the former's ability to quietly snipe enemies (even normal xenos) and the latter's additional Command Point and morale boosting abilities. The Tech class is made effectively redundant owing to the fact the all marines at some point will have access to the "Smart-Ass" perk, which allows them to unlock more advanced doors (either allowing a shortcut or access to extra goodies). If I were to tweak things, I'd have the Tech class the only ones who can hack doors and also set up Sentry Turrets. I would also alter the Medic class to have more useful abilities, for example, applying stims that temporarily reduce damage taken, or something. And nerf the sniper ability somehow. There's a bit of jank too. You can move your squad around in an APC, and damn, that needed another pass. Oh well. I get the feeling that this was a relatively small developer trying to do much with a small budget, and it's a fair effort. However, the game was engrossing enough for me to see it through to the end, though the ending level is a little underwhelming given all you've gone through to get there. If you like XCOM, you'll get on fine with this. I'd also be interested to see someone take the structure and use it for a Starship Troopers game. Proof that I'm VERY SPESHUL:
Now that you mention it, how has there never been an RTS on the Starship Troopers IP? That's such an obvious fit
Oh but there are! Starship Troopers: Terran Ascendancy (2000): I played this over and over back in the day. Loved it! Starship Troopers: Terran Command (2022): Didn't really enjoy the demo, so gave it a miss.
The Long Dark - the Wintermute campaign. Finished it yesterday. It's been years in the making (and playing) so it was nice to chalk that one up. They are working on a sequel though, so I'll be into that as soon as it's out.
Selaco again possibly the most important fps since the original half life, and its not even finished yet.
Persona 5 Royal (once again) It’s a turn-based JRPG where the protagonist and party members are Japanese high-schoolers; so right off the bat, that’s going to turn a lot of people off. But I think it’s a fantastic game. The presentation is slick & stylish, the mechanics are well-polished, the story is suitably batshit but still grounded, and the soundtrack is an absolute scorcher. I’ve just finished my third run-through, so playing it on “NG++” is definitely a bit of a “press this button to win” in terms of combat, but there’s still a lot to explore and I still technically haven’t hit “100%”. I picked up all the Steam achievements a while ago, but there’s still a bunch of in-game achievements I haven’t got. I did pick up Persona 4 Golden recently, I started playing it ages ago on the Vita but didn’t really put much more than a couple of hours into it. But there’s a bunch of stuff I need/want to do before I jump back into another 40-60 hour game that’ll suck up all of my free time.
Boltgun: Forces of Corruption - Fair enough/10 With the sequel imminent, I decided to finish off my playthrough I started at the end of 2025. Little did I know I was literally on the last level, so got murdered several times before getting back into the flow of things. Mind you, taking on a Great Unclean One AND a Lord of Change at the same time is going to ruin anyone's day. Not to mention the two (or was it three?) Hellbrutes that spawned in soon after. No matter, I had my Heavy Bolter to keep me company whilst I BROUGHT THE EMPEROR'S LIGHT TO THE SINFUL AND WICKED. Just as the main game, a competent enough affair. I had fun.
Doom: The Dark Ages: Revelations: The DLC: With: All: The: Colons: - More of the same /10 Turns out this was included with the version I got with my GPU. Eh. See my comments on the main game. I'm a bit disappointed that there were no mech or dragon bits, just on foot for the duration. The "big" deal is that they've added a glowing spear as an alternative to the shield, with the idea of making the game a bit more dynamic like Eternal. You can still use the shield (after spending a bit of time being forced to use the spear), but it's clear the devs are trying to push you towards the spear. I tried to use the shield as much as I could, but there are bits you can't not use it, either from a completing puzzles perspective, or avoiding some of the more frisky of Hell's citizens. Speaking of, there are some new enemies: the best addition in my opinion is the chap with a big shield and a unicycle for legs. I stuck with Nightmare difficulty all the way up until the final boss*. I'd already spent about 3 hours beating the penultimate boss (that'll learn me for using up my extra lives) and I decided enough was enough. I put it down to "Hurt Me Plenty" (i.e. normal) and I still managed to die in the second part of the battle. Still, I felt like a goddamn badass right up until then. However, the addition of the spear is starting to go down the Eternal route of more buttons to press while your trying to kill things, and it did make my brain freeze a couple of times. Anyway, certainly worse ways to spend your time. *Technically, I haven't completed the DLC as I haven't gone back to do the extra stuff unlocked by finishing the main portion of the add-on. This includes a megaboss that I watched on teh Youtubes, and I ain't got time for that.
This is an IPv6 address, no? Does it link to a download of the game? From our intercourse , I think you're a bit like me. I think this is going to niggle at you.
Finished the main story of Red Dead Redemption 2 ... Wow what to say about it. An easy 10/10 .. really easy . I left it late to play it .. but boy am I glad I did. I dont think I've come across such a strong character as Arthur Morgan . And without spoiling the end of the game I was jaw on the floor when it finished... I was gutted!! Arthur's character is someone I looked forward to seeing again , itch'd to play and ride across a beautiful open world bursting with life. I did just burn through the story mode quite quickly , still took me around the 50 hour mark , and I know there is so much more to be had. I've not played through the Prologue yet as im still getting over the game coming to an end with Arthur . Im going back for a 2nd play through at some point , I will take my time and explore more , finish all the side quests ( never thought id hear myself say that ) but its thrilling , relaxing , funny , tense .. the whole story was really great , and although it ended the way it did , so many unanswered questions still , treachery and betrayal , broken friendships and what could of been. Its really grabbed hold of me in a way I did not expect!! Believe the hype everyone , a truly excellent gaming experience I will not forget.
