What Video Games Are You Currently Playing

Elden Ring update: This game is long! Beat Radahn and found the eternal city. Finished Ranni's quest, but that one fucked me up. Basically didn't get any runes from it. I need to do Siofra Aqueducts next, but everything has been fucking me up lately even at level 71. I was OP for like five minutes, and now the opposite.

Played all weekend on the Switch. There is no updated texture. There is no updated controls. You have to (if you don't have a N64 controller) go into the console settings to switch the buttons/layout to work properly. The framerate dips exactly as it did in the original when there are 4 people throwing proximity mines and everything is blowing up. There is no voice chat. You have to find people via friend codes because there is no lobby/matchmaking. It is fucking fantastic. 

The audience for this shit is going to be so niche because unless you are an OG player and are willing to push past the barriers to entry (specifically, the controller remapping, having to work around the fact that there is no lobby/matchmaking nor any chat feature), you will hate this. It probably doesn't help that Graslu007, the current Goldeneye World Champion and true guru of all things Goldeneye is shitting on this because it's not as good as emulators already available on PC (I'm not going to argue that point). 

For those willing to push past what are, yes, some annoyances, what awaits you are a replication of the feeling you got when you sat in a smoky dorm room, playing this shit until your eyeballs bled and the nighttime sky turned into day. I can not describe how awesome it was to slip back into this shit and, although this is weird, the fact that it janks and jerks the way the actual original game did has made the experience all the more pleasurable. Do I want the Xbox remaster that was in works? Of course. But this is truly a wonderful gift. 

Some additional caveats: I played exclusively w/ east coasters as I know cross region play is fucked. I experienced probably 6-7 slowdowns in 4-5 hours of play. that's it. I lost a lot because still was fucking w/ controls have to re-memorize the maps, etc. but it was NEVER due to netplay.  People who didn't play back in the day don't realize that 007 is a head game - yes, you have to be precise with your strikes, but it's as much about playing the high-speed chess game that is Goldeneye. Knowing where your opponent is, knowing exactly what their health is looking like, using the diagonal strafe to increase speed to close the distance between you and the power weapons (and knowing at a glance / calculating how far away your opponent is) is a completely lost art in the era of modern gaming. 

Good ol' Goldeneye...how could I forget. Pretty much spent all of my free time back in 7th grade playing that classic. I remember the unlockable "No Radar" cheat was a thing in splitscreen multiplayer. Although I wasn't that fond of the explosions, since they'd linger like fire for a few seconds and still damage you if you got too close.

As for particular missions, I remember Mission 16 where you have to cover Natalya while she's hacking the central console was arguably the hardest section in the game, since infinite badguys would continue pouring out until she was finished. Sorta reminds me of the Entanglement section from HL2 where you have to wait for Alyx to disable the barriers inside Nova Prospekt.

And the music...the Aztec and Egypt secret missions have some of the best. (Tempting to post the YTs here, but there's another thread for that.)

Remote mines in the basement!

  On 1/30/2023 at 11:35 PM, YEK said:

Remote mines in the basement!

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Yes! So many fond memories, sounds like @ambermonkhas em too. 

Played some more last night, finally got my controller settings tweaked, started killing it. So much fun, but really a dearth of players. If anyone here has a switch and wants to game hit me up:

SW-5691-5848-1592

  On 1/21/2023 at 8:23 PM, Enthusiast said:

Just finished the main story of God of War: Ragnarok. It's at least as good as the previous game. I love the combat and the exploration, but most of all listening to Mimir's stories and conversations. The voice acting is superb. 

It's hard to beat Sony's big triple A story driven games for entertainment.

 

 

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my brother's finished it now. i thought it had a serious problem with a LOTR influence. pretty to look at, lots of unnecessary and convoluted dialogue. i've can't remember a game so widely praised that i thought was fundamentally flawed. very ordinary gameplay, small areas and tight camera, grinding with unnecessary activities like hopping over logs, climbing inexplicable gaps and ledge. completely disconnected from it's origins and identifying characteristics. the last game was far better, and was a good evolution, but this just felt like hard work.

The voice acting is god awful (as the below trailer demonstrates), the opening chapter feels like one of those early access game that gets shat on from Youtubers, it seems to be dragging on far a bit too long .... and yet (and yet) I can't stop playing this (currently put around 15 hours into it)

Like Half Life crossed with Bioshock, but with a crappy digital camera (that gets through batteries faster than a Game Gear) instead of your guns and various GUIs and panels and levers and natural hazards instead of enemies

No horror-y stuff, just urban exploration type things. One for fans of The Proper People youtube channel, liminal spaces and lazy structural engineers

Leveled up to 79 in Elden Ring and still get my ass handed to me on the Valiant Gargoyle in Siofra Aqueducts. So instead found my way to Mt. Gelmir.

This rules.

Pretty impressive 

  On 1/30/2023 at 10:57 PM, ambermonk said:

Good ol' Goldeneye...how could I forget. Pretty much spent all of my free time back in 7th grade playing that classic. I remember the unlockable "No Radar" cheat was a thing in splitscreen multiplayer. Although I wasn't that fond of the explosions, since they'd linger like fire for a few seconds and still damage you if you got too close.

As for particular missions, I remember Mission 16 where you have to cover Natalya while she's hacking the central console was arguably the hardest section in the game, since infinite badguys would continue pouring out until she was finished. Sorta reminds me of the Entanglement section from HL2 where you have to wait for Alyx to disable the barriers inside Nova Prospekt.

And the music...the Aztec and Egypt secret missions have some of the best. (Tempting to post the YTs here, but there's another thread for that.)

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I had a friend named Bud, he had the best setup for goldeneye.  He had 2 separate Nintendo's/tv's linked and we'd have 2v2 tournaments.  I think we always played in the temple map?  And the only rule was nobody was allowed to use Oddjob.  I remember it was basically a weekend party with lots of beer/weed, but the focus was goldeneye.  

  On 2/6/2023 at 8:08 PM, Rubin Farr said:

Pretty impressive 

 

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In-engine not real time rendered.

Elden Ring update: Stumbled through Leyndell and got roughed up by Godfrey at the end, so went and beat Volcano Manor (Rykard was pretty easy), all of Nokstella, and most of Lake of Rot. Still haven't beat Siofra Aqueducts, but going to try to beat Godfrey again, then see if I can beat the Siofra Aqueducts and Lake of Rot bosses.

  On 2/7/2023 at 7:53 PM, onecaseman said:

Elden Ring update: Stumbled through Leyndell and got roughed up by Godfrey at the end, so went and beat Volcano Manor (Rykard was pretty easy), all of Nokstella, and most of Lake of Rot. Still haven't beat Siofra Aqueducts, but going to try to beat Godfrey again, then see if I can beat the Siofra Aqueducts and Lake of Rot bosses.

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Fucked up all those bosses and Morgott by upgrading my summons. I now feel very OP again.

Digital version on eShop now 

Sweet

  On 2/8/2023 at 10:42 PM, Rubin Farr said:

Digital version on eShop now 

 

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Nice I wonder when finally release outer wilds 

free demo out:

https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/sea-of-stars-switch/

  On 2/8/2023 at 11:32 PM, Rubin Farr said:

 

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It might sound silly but I wish they would have included Mario Land 1 with the GB. 

  On 2/9/2023 at 11:01 PM, YEK said:

It might sound silly but I wish they would have included Mario Land 1 with the GB. 

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That you can’t download these games a la carte is stupid. Guess it’s a good reason to keep the Wii U around.

Today is my first time ever playing a Dead Space game. Decided to try out the remake, into which I've put in about an hour & a half so far. Running better than I expected on my RTX 2070 I've had for three years now. Guess there's no need to fix it if it ain't broke.
Already got the level 2 suit upgrade since I saved up enough credits along the way. It's nice to be able to move and aim at the same time too without any accuracy penalty. And I guess the same strategy in fighting monsters applies in this game as the Ghost People from Dead Money DLC in Fallout: New Vegas; dismember the fuck outta them so they don't get back up.

There's been a recent update to the System Shock remake demo as well. Looks like Nightdive added an in-game economy, a new melee weapon, and a new enemy type. The full game is supposed to be finally released next month. This demo still isn't enough to scratch that itch. I can't put into words how badly I want to play it once it's officially launched. The TTLG original was one of my favorite PC games of all time when I was growing up - that's why this remake is so dear to me.
 

Guess I'll continue on with the new Dead Space in the meantime. The new System Shock makes me wanna play Prey 2017 again though, since the gameplay is so similar.

Almost launch time for Atomic Heart as well. And I just happen to have a soft spot for robot dames.

Metroid Prime Remastered. It's really good, looks great and plays much nicer with the dual sticks. God I love Metroid.

  On 2/13/2023 at 6:00 PM, Enthusiast said:

Metroid Prime Remastered. It's really good, looks great and plays much nicer with the dual sticks. God I love Metroid.

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Is it much harder than 2d metroids?

  On 2/14/2023 at 6:01 AM, YEK said:

Is it much harder than 2d metroids?

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I don't think so. This is my first time playing it, I didn't own a Gamecube and didn't play Trilogy on the Wii, so can't say how tough it gets. It certainly is a 3d Metroid experience with all the backtracking and upgrading to access new areas that the games are known for.