Video Games

[sashimi]

My xbox 360 finally took a dump a few months ago (I am not a big gamer) and I was all set on buying a series X so I could continue to play my 360 collection and try some new stuff, but they raised the price so much this year that I wanted to wait for Black Friday deals. Black Friday rolled around and zero deals on xbox, so I bought a ps5 instead, and so glad I did, the controller is great, and screw Microsoft anyway. I’m mainly interested in horror and open world GTA/Red Dead kind of stuff if you guys have any suggestions. I might try one of these sniper games.

 

[Fool]

I’m mainly interested in horror and open world GTA/Red Dead kind of stuff if you guys have any suggestions.

Bloodborne

 

[Aleksi]

My xbox 360 finally took a dump a few months ago (I am not a big gamer) and I was all set on buying a series X so I could continue to play my 360 collection and try some new stuff, but they raised the price so much this year that I wanted to wait for Black Friday deals. Black Friday rolled around and zero deals on xbox, so I bought a ps5 instead, and so glad I did, the controller is great, and screw Microsoft anyway. I’m mainly interested in horror and open world GTA/Red Dead kind of stuff if you guys have any suggestions. I might try one of these sniper games.

For horror I really liked the remakes of Silent Hill 2 and Resident Evil 2&4 (4 is more action though). Worth playing even if you've played the originals. RE 7&8 are also pretty good. Haven't played the latest Silent Hill yet.

 

[the swede]

My xbox 360 finally took a dump a few months ago (I am not a big gamer) and I was all set on buying a series X so I could continue to play my 360 collection and try some new stuff, but they raised the price so much this year that I wanted to wait for Black Friday deals. Black Friday rolled around and zero deals on xbox, so I bought a ps5 instead, and so glad I did, the controller is great, and screw Microsoft anyway. I’m mainly interested in horror and open world GTA/Red Dead kind of stuff if you guys have any suggestions. I might try one of these sniper games.

Good for you, PS definitely has a very strong exclusive games library… kinda pisses big time on Xbox imo. We bought Series X on release based on the hype they were pulling. But it took them to long and the first few years were super boring in series X/S world. And they still haven’t pulled through on the promises (gaming wize).

But we bought the kids a PS5 two years later and they’re having great gaming on that. The old fart in the family (me) is the only one playing the Xbox. It’s rather sad actually, because it’s a brilliant machine hardware wize.
I like that I can have a heavy game like Cyberpunk always on “resume”, no matter if I turn the console off or one of the kids log in and play a game… my game is still on and on resume state. But…. I only think that’s impressive because I’m 45 and remember the old pc gaming days in the 90’s… and my son says his PS5 does that to… so coolness factor pffft

 

[mbenigni]

My xbox 360 finally took a dump a few months ago (I am not a big gamer) and I was all set on buying a series X so I could continue to play my 360 collection and try some new stuff, but they raised the price so much this year that I wanted to wait for Black Friday deals. Black Friday rolled around and zero deals on xbox, so I bought a ps5 instead, and so glad I did, the controller is great, and screw Microsoft anyway. I’m mainly interested in horror and open world GTA/Red Dead kind of stuff if you guys have any suggestions. I might try one of these sniper games.

I love/hate Xbox and PlayStation equally, each for their own reasons. Agree the PS controller is FAR superior to the Xbox controller, but the PS5 itself is an absurd design: oversized, impossible to lay flat, etc. I honestly can’t imagine what they were thinking. Dear Sony, flat surfaces and right angles are kind of important on any planet featuring… gravity.

Then there’s the software/ subscriptions front. Most of my fave exclusives are on PS, but it’s been a LONG time since I’ve seen one. Meanwhile, MS Game Pass has all kinds of great day one games whereas PS+ is a morass of c-grade shovelware I’ve never heard of. (And a few good games I’ve reliably already paid for.) In fairness, PS+ is cheaper, but I finally decided to cancel it anyway. (YMMV considerably if you don’t already have a library of paid-for PS games; in fact, PS+ might even be a good idea for a few months.)

As for recommendations, sounds like a very good time to try a proper Soulslike, with the excellent PS5 remake of Demon’s Souls!

 

[mbenigni]

Are you healthy in the head? Joking…)

Damn straight you’re joking. Don’t mess with the snipers. And don’t sit so close to the window.

 

[mbenigni]

Just getting started with Ghost of Yotei. Not nearly as impressed as everyone assures me I should be. I loved Tsushima, but the script, voice acting, etc. seem so amateurish in this sequel. And after n hours of Tsushima, it’s instantly boring to be encountering random enemies and pressing triangle for showdowns, etc. I thought I was paying $70 for a *new* game. Ah well, hopefully it’s a grower and I’ll be back having eaten my words.

Gotta love Sony’s refund policy: we’ll let you have a refund unless you’ve downloaded the content. Has anyone ever once changed their mind without even downloading the content? They erased their overhead with manufacturing and distribution, and they screw their digital customers anyway. I can buy physical media and return it no questions asked, but if I download at (approximately) no cost to anyone… no recourse. Makes me crazy.

EDIT: As I might have predicted, Yotei is already growing on me. But my gripe about Sony’s return policy stands LOL.

 

[bucephalus]

Just getting started with Ghost of Yotei. Not nearly as impressed as everyone assures me I should be. I loved Tsushima, but the script, voice acting, etc. seem so amateurish in this sequel. And after n hours of Tsushima, it’s instantly boring to be encountering random enemies and pressing triangle for showdowns, etc. I thought I was paying $70 for a *new* game. Ah well, hopefully it’s a grower and I’ll be back having eaten my words.

Gotta love Sony’s refund policy: we’ll let you have a refund unless you’ve downloaded the content. Has anyone ever once changed their mind without even downloading the content? They erased their overhead with manufacturing and distribution, and they screw their digital customers anyway. I can buy physical media and return it no questions asked, but if I download at (approximately) no cost to anyone… no recourse. Makes me crazy.

Yeah and digital are never as cheap in a sale either. Gets my goat that.

 

[sashimi]

Haha agreed on the shape of the ps5. It looks like it got melted in an oven. I almost missed the little clear plastic triangular feet in the box that make it so you can set it down horizontally, @mbenigni maybe you missed them too, lol. I’m having a lot of fun with a couple of the included games on ps plus right now - Still Wakes the Deep which is like John Carpenter’s The Thing set on an oil rig, and Days Gone which is like outlaw biker Red Dead Redemption with zombies. I’m going to check out a couple of these other suggestions.

 

[the swede]

Haha agreed on the shape of the ps5. It looks like it got melted in an oven. I almost missed the little clear plastic triangular feet in the box that make it so you can set it down horizontally, @mbenigni maybe you missed them too, lol. I’m having a lot of fun with a couple of the included games on ps plus right now - Still Wakes the Deep which is like John Carpenter’s The Thing set on an oil rig, and Days Gone which is like outlaw biker Red Dead Redemption with zombies. I’m going to check out a couple of these other suggestions.

You should try The Last of Us. I didn’t play them but watched my son play them and they’re very good. Horizon and God of War is also very high quality games.

 

[gearJunkie]

Received a Bigscreen VR Beyond 2e headset with eye tracker and universal fit cushion last week. Today, I'm expecting delivery of 2 Valve Index Base Stations (2.0) and a set of Shiftall FlipVR controllers. Should make for some new gaming experiences when I start my year end holiday on Wednesday.

 

[Devin]

Lol jesus, one of these is not like the others


Also not sure why it shows elden ring here with zero trophies, I platinumed that within like two weeks of it first releasing. But I also haven't really played it at all this year

 

[Jarick]

Finally grabbed Hollow Knight and Silksong on Steam so I can install mods on my computer. I have a Mac which makes things 100 times harder but after a few hours I got debug mods installed on both so I can load save states. Then I'll be able to practice rooms and bosses repeatedly to get good enough to actually beat the game in a respectable time.

Kinda sucks though they don't have an auto timer for Mac, so I can't time any of the runs.

 

[mbenigni]

EDIT: As I might have predicted, Yotei is already growing on me. But my gripe about Sony’s return policy stands LOL.

I threw a couple dozen hours at Yotei. Really tried to like it. I do not.

It's OK, I guess? (I've taken to calling it The Ghost of Yahokay.) The script and acting are mostly terrible, and the combat is just awful. That doesn't leave much to like except for the beautiful scenery and music. I can find both of those elsewhere.

First time I've paid retail for a video game in some time and - as always - I regret it.

 

[mbenigni]

Haha agreed on the shape of the ps5. It looks like it got melted in an oven. I almost missed the little clear plastic triangular feet in the box that make it so you can set it down horizontally, @mbenigni maybe you missed them too, lol.

I'm not sure which version you got (Slim or whatever), but the original had a single platform that kind of notched into the center of the back of the PS5 - but it would fall out again at the slightest provocation. It's a PITA precisely 100% of the time. One of those things where you're like, "How did this ever get past a design committee and subsequently put into production??"

The PS5 itself, OMG. I read an interview with the designer and he went on and on about "bridging the gap between the games and the real world and the player" or some such. SO pretentious. It's a box of electronics. I want it to function properly, with appropriate thermal and acoustic characteristics; I want it to sit on a shelf without rolling around; I want to be able to put a controller on top without it rolling around... I want more than anything to not have to think about it very much. So I can best engage with the software. If the designer needs to "bridge gaps" or whatever... that's what art galleries are for.

 

[gearJunkie]

I finally got my Bigscreen VR Beyond 2e setup with a pair of Valve base stations (2.0) and a pair of Shiftall FlipVR controllers. My first VR game is "Beat Saber". Tons of fun to play with a decent Coldplay soundtrack.

 

[Devin]

Finally started putting some time in to Silksong


Made it past the mist area with the ghost ladies last night

 

[Devin]

I threw a couple dozen hours at Yotei. Really tried to like it. I do not.

It's OK, I guess? (I've taken to calling it The Ghost of Yahokay.) The script and acting are mostly terrible, and the combat is just awful. That doesn't leave much to like except for the beautiful scenery and music. I can find both of those elsewhere.

First time I've paid retail for a video game in some time and - as always - I regret it.

I played through like 90% of the game but couldn't be bothered to actually finish it

Maybe one day lol

I don't think it's a *bad* game at all but it is pretty monotonous; past the first couple hours it's essentially all the same shit over and over again

 

[mbenigni]

I played through like 90% of the game but couldn't be bothered to actually finish it

That is... not a good sign LOL.

I don't think it's a *bad* game at all...

I genuinely think it's a bad game. It's an amazing achievement in terms of artwork and software technology, but it is a bad game.

...but it is pretty monotonous; past the first couple hours it's essentially all the same shit over and over again

The cookie cutter repetition is so immediately transparent, especially if you've already played the first game. The RPG elements are ridiculously shallow, as is exploration/ discovery. The weapon variety isn't really complemented by any meaningful variety in gameplay mechanics. And worst of all, the enemy behavior reduces combat to a tedious process of trying to effectively target individual enemies (and select an appropriate weapon) while they shuffle in proximity between one another all around you. It doesn't feel challenging so much as pointless and annoying. To me, anyway.

 

[mbenigni]

Finally started putting some time in to Silksong


Made it past the mist area with the ghost ladies last night

Case in point: I think Silksong is actually a good game. I just can't play it because it's too hard for me.