Lurker > TVontheRadio

i only played total mayhem once after it first came out. i played as winston on defense in route 66. the attack team couldn't even round the first corner with the payload. i basically parked my ass on it, dropping bubbles and double jumping when i needed to get healed by ana. must have been a really frustrating experience for them!
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i'd be interested to actually read what it is about nioh's narrative that you love! you can get into spoilers if it'll help. i'm at that point where i don't mind being told plot points in advance. hell, maybe that'll help me appreciate the story.

because right now, comparing the strength of nier's writing to nioh's just sounds ludicrous!
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digiiiiiiiii posted...

i cant come close to agreeing to this. nioh is my game of the year and i loved every second of it

don't get me wrong, i actually love a decent amount of it! it's just too long without any intrigue in the narrative or surprises in the mechanics. i kinda wish the cutscenes were just wilder so that i'd be more interested in what's going on because it's all just so very dry without even a sense of humor. and the levels don't really have much character to them. the soulsborne games, while not having many cinematics, still kept me wanting to dive into the world because of the mood and atmosphere and mystery. nioh does control better though, so it has that going for it!

i beat hellblade. is is harrowing and uplifting. i think it's easy for me to empathize that even if i don't really deal with major mental health issues, i found myself almost welling up near the end.

now it's actually a three-way race for my goty between that, nier, and pyre!
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yep nioh is too long without anything compelling happening. just gonna push through it since i know i'm close to the end.

hellblade though!

shit is intense. headphones are a must. i'm also finding the combat weirdly satisfying after fumbling through it in the beginning. this game has zero tutorials and button prompts so i was discovering different combos and abilities on the fly.
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just over 50 hours now on nioh. the combat really is the only thing carrying it. i don't care about the story or the characters. william is a nothing protagonist. the levels all look generic af, and going through some of them again for sub missions points to uninspired design. i'm pretty sure i've seen every enemy type already 15 hours ago. the loot lust is starting to wear out too.

but man is it still just super satisfying to fight dudes and mind mapping a level the first time through a mission. it kinda sorta feels like destiny in a weird way, but with way more content to go through. probably too much, actually.

i do think i'm very close to the end of the game. should be done with the main campaign by the weekend. i also have the two dlc. hoping it has completely new environments and enemies!

but i might just take a break from it tomorrow to get through hellblade, which seems to offer a completely opposite experience with a great narrative but very rote action. perfect palate cleanser!
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the ql and dan's enthusiasm got my interest, but further investigation made me decide to just hold off until i see it go for sale.

so i got edith finch instead, and i'm looking to buy rime and blackwood crossing with the money i have left in my psn wallet since both are on sale.

gonna wait until next week though before i pull the trigger on those two titles. need to know if the early impressions for hellblade are good!
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i haven't been playing this for a while except for a couple of matches to try out doomfist.

roadhog can still one-shot real squishy heroes with the usual combo iirc. the nerf to his gun damage is good since he now actually has to sync up with his team to be a terror unlike going off on his own and solo-ing every single hero. the hook should still be a death sentence most of the time anyway if you're positioned close to your team, as smart teammates would learn to just immediately focus fire whoever you hook. as far as i know, being out of position is what gets you killed most of the time in overwatch, and that's what the hook is for, pulling enemies out of position.

the change to take a breather sounds terrifying actually. since outside of a d.va ult or the entire enemy team focus firing him, the 50% damage reduction buff basically makes him invincible while moving. he won't be an easy target with the movement, and the damage reduction also reduces whatever ult charge you get from shooting him by half too. he'll actually be more like a tank now too since he can use it to get up close to an enemy team more confidently, absorbing damage to get a good hook.
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there were flashes of brilliance, but there were too many lulls and awkward bits that didn't go anywhere. giant bomb to me is only really hilarious when the crew starts the riffing from just natural conversations or when they're directly commenting on the ridiculousness of a game they're playing. this feels like "comedy podcast" where they just "do bits", and neither ben nor abby have that snappiness to their brand of humor to make it work. not now at least. awkward improv is very hit-and-miss, and i feel it's mostly a miss here.

i'm sure this'll get better though!
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beat pyre

great game. current goty right now as it's really fresh. we'll see if it holds up with repeat playthroughs! its only real competition though is nier.

will get back to nioh then maybe edith finch after that.

horizon is... on the horizon.
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well i lost the third liberation rite but i didn't restart this time. it makes sense. i love this.
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rukey and sir gilman.......

i have to see how the rest of the game goes with the second one you liberated. that one and the other initial member will probably stay with me to the end unless i feel the story absolutely calls for them to be up for freedom.

already excited to see how it all plays out liberating people in a different order! second playthrough, i will definitely keep going win or lose. might even go for a run where i lose every match haha.
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oh man i'm already struggling with just having the one titan modifier on where the enemies react faster. pamitha is definitely op with that talisman. just flying over everybody!

without the modifier, it has been a cakewalk.

also did two liberation rites. had to restart that last one two times because i suck and don't want to fail haha.

but yeah the story and the characters are just grabbing me in a way that bastion never did. i'll probably play it multiple times just to see how the narrative changes. might be my goty frontrunner too if it keeps this pace or gets even better!
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oh man pyre is really good
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got pyre

it is pretty damn good
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man you guys are making me regret not pulling the trigger on the psn pre-order. i know alex of gb loves it, so when he eventually talks it up on the beastcast, i'm probably gonna end up buying and playing through all of it over the weekend! will have to buy a psn card, so i'll pick up another game that's on sale.

also hey nioh continues to be incredibly satisfying, especially now that i've unlocked a lot of skills for the two weapons i primarily use. love just cleaving through single enemies with my odachi. kusarigami is awesome too for stunlocking and quickly dispatching mobs. the second dlc just dropped too, and the tonfa look fun as fuck to use. and i still have all the other weapon classes to try!
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iiicon posted...

Instead of growing stronger over time, you're growing weaker: you're slowly but surely casting off your exiled friends to "freedom," but losing them on a personal level in the process. Your win-state, instead of leveling up, is tethered to losing combatants at your side. Whereas in the twisted lose-state, you keep them alongside you, but as a result your eventual revolution up in Commonwealth grows more and more unlikely. The lose state may be better in the moment to moment, but in reality, it's amounting to a probable bad end.

this actually all sounds cool
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after spending an hour and a half to fully explore the level in the ocean roars again (lighting all 3 fires), it was only after i beat the boss that i learn how those fires can buff your weapon.

i mean the boss itself wasn't that hard in retrospect, but those instakill ledges made me not want to get anywhere close to the edges of the stage!

anyway, i'm still enjoying my time with nioh. getting that familiar feeling of dread and adrenaline, which is great. nothing about the story or the world is compelling me though, but fuck it playing it is just fun.

pyre is out tomorrow! eurogamer says it's essential. i thought bastion was pretty and had great music, but that was it. never played transistor. psn has its preorder price at 17.99, and i happen to have $18 in my psn wallet thanks to that 15 for 100 promo last month. game will be 19.99 by tomorrow. hmmmmm
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ep 2 was a riot. reminded me of my time playing through all of 3d world with friends and us fucking up simple platforming parts. hilarious shit.

i do feel like we will be getting wild swings in quality because of how long i think this series will go. i can easily imagine them hitting a couple of walls later on if dan is to be believed that it gets way harder. there will be bad days when one or two of them won't have much patience for the camera and the controls!
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i've been raring to go since the beginning, but if even the usual people have yet to play the game, then yeah, probably have to wait a while.

this also reminds me that i need to get started on my overall rankings.
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beat the first real mission in nioh. getting through the level wasn't too hard, but man those oni and that boss weren't fucking around. the stances, the ki pulse, and the skills to chain combos make me want to experiment and get good at using those, but getting killed in 2-3 hits over and over again also makes me want to play it safe against anything that isn't a regular enemy. so many systems too with the inventory. kind of overwhelming, but i already feel myself getting drawn into the whole thing anyway.

i will probably lose myself into mastering this 60+ hour game.
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got through the first hour of nioh. game is dark. literally. demon's souls-esque. died twice but only at the very beginning when i was still getting a hang of the controls and insisted on kicking the first enemy to death with my bare feet!

action mode is a good thing for this kind of game. will check out how movie mode looks. played all of the souls games on console so i'm fine with 30fps too.
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iiicon posted...

it's a style preference for sure. you're right in that it's slower, more methodical, at least compared to other recent FPS games. it's a lot like Half-Life in a sense. I don't agree that the weapons aren't interesting though, you're crazy! if you can't have fun dual wielding shotguns why are you even playing video games =)

I dunno if you had plans on The Old Blood, but there's a lot more stealth and a less interesting story. I liked it, but TNO is also one of my favourite FPSers ever, so.

the whole game actually gave me a half-life kinda vibe, which happens to be one of my favorite shooters. the original, at least. j will concede that dual wielding shotguns feels good, but that doesn't make the weapons themselves interesting! it's really just the laser that stands out, and the cutting mode is disappointingly useless in combat.

i haven't read any glowing recommendations for the old blood, and yours isn't doing much for me either! unless it somehow becomes important in understanding the new colossus, i don't think i'll be getting it.

for what it's worth, i totally spilled paint on victoria.
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and i'm done. i should have been using the laser gun to instakill the armored guys sooner. that made going through the last couple of levels easier.

pretty good final act. if i didn't know about the sequel, i think i would have found that ending way more impactful! still a neat way to wrap things up. also, bj is pretty much immortal in cutscenes.

ready now for the new colossus!

should get started on nioh soon.
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just about to start chapter 13. the gunplay continues to be just okay. the combat encounters have become harder, but i don't find them to be that fun or engaging. especially when i'm going up against the big heavy armored dudes and rocket infantry that just chew me up when i'm not in cover. so that just encourages me to stay put and take potshots from afar when they're around. i'm fine with most regular infantry. i can run and gun against those guys, and that's alright.

i guess it doesn't help that basically all the first person shooters i've played in the past year push you to keep moving and give you plenty of mobility. whether it's doom, titanfall 2, or even overwatch, i was never just staying put and peeking out of cover to kill enemies. maybe i'm just not so good at this game, but i'm just not really digging the actual shooting here. weapons aren't that interesting either.

everything else though is great! so i'll see it through, but i think this one run will be enough for me. i'm hoping the next game is more enjoyable at that part.
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i'm a little over halfway through wolfenstein tno, and i'm absolutely loving all the moments in between the action. the actual shooting parts have just been okay though. hoping it steps up there as the game ramps up.

also for honor update: i am now competent with 4 classes. really love how different they all play too. i know i'm probably not going to get anywhere close to high-level play, so i'm happy with just dedicating my time to learning every class that the game never feels boring.
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oh thank god this year didn't need any more 50+ hour games
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great murder island

i really hope the west crew gets that new video producer soon. i fear for jason's over well-being. dude has had it rough for months, and it also seems like the heat's been on him all this time, especially from the community which just sucks.

abby is just great. ben is funny, but i think he needs more experience working the live shows.
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i considered playing warframe on ps4 when i was checking out f2p games. i realized how much time i needed to invest in it to really get something out of it, so I didn't bother. maybe on a down year, if that ever actually happens again!

playing more for honor. beat the story last week. it was alright. viking campaign was kinda funny and hype! samurai campaign actually was challenging at points, even on normal.

prestiged as warden and orochi in the multiplayer. fairly competent with those classes. beating most players around my skill level and experience in duels. also managing some wins against players who have been playing for a while when they don't use their mains. got enough in-game currency to unlock one of the two s2 classes. will probably get the ninja!

started wolfenstein tno. i hate how you can't pause cutscenes. missed some dialogue because i had to get the door. left off after getting inside the london nautica. it's cool! lots of neat moments. bj could really lighten up though. i mean, yeah, he went through some traumatizing shit, but the max payne monologuing can be eye-rolling at times.
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homecoming is a good movie that doesn't totally feel like every other marvel movie. people downplaying the raimi films is such a dumb thing, especially with how gigantic they were.
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that got telltale game has some really good moments but squanders everything with such a lame final episode. very disappointing.
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Skyridge87 posted...

Bizarrely he seems almost MORE maneuverable than Genji.

jeez really? good genjis are already a nightmare to deal with. and with how jeff kaplan says doomfist is designed as a dive character, i feel like his introduction will only cement the dive meta for much longer. genji, tracer, doomfist, d.va, and winston jumping on your team sounds real bad!
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Johnbobb posted...

Also that video really makes me want an Overwatch anime

yep

don't got overwatch on pc so no ptr for me. how similar is he to genji?
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neonreaper posted...

Can't think of any other game like it!

Chivalry?

not familiar with it! reading up on it, yeah, it does sound similar on the surface, but it's apparently way faster and more twitch-based. for honor is very deliberate with its souls-like animation priority and stamina management. and yeah, with chivalry in first-person and for honor being third-person, the difference is starker. throw in the two other factions with vikings and samurai that play differently (that now also has a super fast ninja class!), it definitely feels to me that for honor has a way more distinct identity.
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Been playing a lot of For Honor, but not in the way I expected. The big team-based skirmishes and objective modes were what drew me into the game, but of course I'm also one of the many players labeled with a strict NAT (probably because of the P2P hosting), and I can't for the life of me figure out port forwarding. So I can't actually join any of those modes I wanted to play originally! At least not against other players, but fighting AI with human teammates isn't very exciting either.

So I'm left with 1v1s and 2v2s for real human competition. Mostly the former. And it was really frustrating at first because the strict NAT also means I just get matched with whoever I could connect to, so I get opponents of all skill levels. Getting demolished by players who've clearly been playing for way longer than I have isn't the most fun time.

But I like the combat system and the feel well enough to stick with it, and through experience and watching some video guides, I've built up some competency with the starter Knight class that I can actually win fights against players of similar playtime and eke out a round or two against veterans. It's very much a fighting game, but I also appreciate how it's really its own thing. Can't think of any other game like it!

The story mode is an okay tutorial for every class, too, with some dumb fun moments. Gonna wrap that up next session, then I'll get back to playing a real single player campaign with Wolfenstein: The New Order. I'll still be dueling constantly though. Need to learn other classes too. Probably gonna be my "rest of the year pick-up and play game" since I don't think I'll be picking up other fighting games or rogue-likes. Maybe Dead Cells when that comes out for real?
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i think nier: automata is one of those rough gems where the gameplay is clearly subordinate to the writing. it gets the job done to make some very powerful points about purpose, but i'd be lying if i said i found most of the actual playing itself to be super engaging. none of the actual quest design, and i use that because it is an "open world" game, is structurally interesting. just about every single one of them is either a fetch quest or kill waves of enemies. i pushed through anyway and cleared 80% of the sidequests simply because the writing was compelling enough.

there are definitely moments of video game brilliance in that it uses the medium to express its themes.

also, i played it without zero knowledge of the first nier and didn't have any trouble following the story.

i think there's some merit to just bee-lining the main quest and maybe turning the difficulty down to easy for the least tedium and to experience the big story beats. personally though, doing a bunch of the sidequests added texture to the world and reinforced the overall messages of the game. if you don't have 35+ hours in your life and the patience to do a lot of fetch quests, then sure, just stick to the main quest.
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wow

well, i'm done with nier: automata!

what an ending, what a game.

i didn't get a single ending outside of the main ones though! just had to everything the right way, i guess. i'll look the rest of them up on youtube.
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okay shit is popping off in route c of nier
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so i hear! and it looks like i'll be doing that today instead of tomorrow because fuck i got sick yesterday and i'm still recovering. will just have girl over on sunday so she doesn't get infected. should be enough time for me to blaze through nier and process whatever existential dread it'll subject me to.
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didn't think i'd spend another 15 hours on route b of nier, but i did because i did another good chunk of the sidequests. some really disturbing ones there. but as for the main plot, things just started getting interesting near the end. started route c just to see how that begins. hmmmmm.

i should probably be done with it this weekend. i hear once it gets going, it'll be real hard to put down the controller. but that's for sunday because saturday is for interacting with actual human beings!

well, i'm gonna be introducing this lady friend to video games. journey and gone home, don't fail me now!
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was planning to watch glow when it premiered but held off because i wanna start it with this new girl i'm seeing. gonna see it this saturday!

or maybe twin peaks after we watch eraserhead because i'm sure we'll just fall in love with lynch. i hear this new season is... something else.
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oh god i need that

and i have good reason to get it since i was an idiot kid that never got to play most of those games. it shouldn't be too insane to find one here in the philippines when it comes out. hopefully.
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took 16 hours to finish route a of nier automata with some sidequests completed. i know people say it gets real interesting later, but yeah, that was a fairly bog standard open world action game with admittedly a decent number of weird, affecting moments. the a plot as it were had a pretty neat setup, but none of the big "emotional" beats later on really landed for me.

i like how route b starts though, and i'm looking forward to things ramping up eventually. hoping all that setup is worth it to go through the game for another... 6-8 hours??

also, fuck this stupid strict nat type bullshit with for honor goddamn i have never had to deal with any of this kind of shit playing multiplayer fuck gotta forward ports and shit goddamnit
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the mike scenes are there for gilligan and the directors to show off their cinematography chops. very meditative stuff, but yeah, i've always felt that the whole mike storyline isn't anywhere close to being as compelling as jimmy's.
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hell yes atlanta

value has to be my favorite episode
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i was already filled with dread during the lead-up, and i still got shocked.

i mean come on she almost had a disaster in the oil field! it's kind of sick, making me think she managed to squeak by already and that she'd be good for the rest of the episode!
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loving the bcs love

seehorn and mckean (that's a law firm right there) are amazing. chicanery had me on the verge of tears at the end. kim deserves the world.

people are worried about the show's existence because apparently it still hasn't been renewed and the ratings are abysmial??? i'm fine with it ending soon, but fuck does it need to be given a proper one.
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man 28 years living in southeast asia and i've still never had durian! maybe i can make a whole thing out of it with the new girl...
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thank goodness my copy of this game is with a friend or i would have gone back to it because of this topic
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ghost recon wildlands apparently is doing real well! but yeah, that's not really competitive. i'll see how it goes over the week.
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i got for honor because i need to stop playing overwatch and what better way to do that than replace it with another big multiplayer game! i hear the games-as-a-service model is working real well for ubisoft so i'm expecting a very healthy player base.

still though... nothing like carrying a team as hoodie tracer to win a 5v6 control map comp game

also, i guess i'm halfway through nier already since i unlocked fast travel?

very happy that the writing for the sidequests continue to be odd and affecting, too. the music definitely does a lot of work!
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