I finished the second of the two campaigns for Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars, having played the first one several years ago.

It actually started with me playing some HoMM3 with my sister, but I'm really drawn to the cartoonish graphics and simpler gameplay of the second game. Plus I remembered that I left it in the middle, and wanted to finish.

It was quite fun. The last level of Roland's campaign is annoying and can easily overwhelm you with many enemy heroes and castles all aligned against you all over the map. You start taking their castles, and then they surprise you from the rear. I had to go back and replay certain things many times. At some point I was down to optimizing specific battles, and once again witnessed how big of a difference strategy and spells can make in this game, turning the tide against clearly superior forces. From memory:

• Mirror Image on a stack of Titans - do it every turn, make sure to time it right so you can score a hit, before the enemy inevitably destroys it (wasting an attack that would otherwise be used on your actual troops)
• With Phoenixes in the army, cast Berserker on a huge stack of Gargoyles at the start every single turn. The opposing hero has no opportunity to undo the spell and the Gargoyles are forced to attack their neighboring stack of Hydras, decimating both stacks. Fortunately he did not have Anti-Magic.
• Personal favorite: When a super-powerful hero approaches your poorly defended castle, but you have TONS of Gold, a hero with just 1-2 Black Dragons, an Armageddon spell, and lots of spell points - repeatedly attack, cast Armageddon and surrender. The CPU heroes can never decline a surrender. Then hire the same hero at the castle, and repeat. I've done it on two separate occasions, each time causing ~1500 hit point damage to all monster stacks of the opponent, while taking no losses myself.

Now my hands are almost itching to start on the Price of Loyalty expansion campaigns immediately, but I know I probably need a break from the game.

I just recently beat New Super Mario Bros Wii. I gotta say even though that game isn't a blockbuster Nintendo title it still is a great one on it's own. The sideways Wiimote controls actually aren't that bad, kind of like an NES controller. The game had a perfect balance of laidback fun and cheap platforming tricks but one thing it's successor did better was embracing you into mechanics. The game often threw new stuff at you every single level instead of making multiple intricate mechanics that expand on themselves the more you play and learn akin to Super Mario World.

I plan to play Deus Ex Human Revolution on my PC next, but for now I recently started replaying the COD : Black Ops 2 campaign on quite a unique platform, the Wii U. This version adds the ability to call in airstrikes or mission equipment on the Gamepad, and you can manage your weapon loadout from it's touchscreen as well. The graphics on this version are noticably better than it's Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 counterparts, and you can tell in various intensive scenes like the nightclub shootout. It also retains the ability to play the game with the Wiimote and Nunchuk, akin to COD titles released on the Wii before it which is quite an interesting change of pace from a standard gamepad and is very cool due to how customizable it is; there are 6 seperate categories of settings in case you don't like what it gave you. The only step up would be fully rebindable controls.

I really enjoyed the Invasion of Panama mission myself, because nothing says Call of Duty quite like an Amercian SOG operative using an automatic FN FAL with an M203 grenade launcher mounted by a couple flatheads, ACOG sight and 80's action movie silencer, which I actually found on the ground to replace my silenced M60 like there would be a point to do that. My personal favorite is the grenade launcher attachment for the M14, in which you mount the ENTIRE handguard off an AR just for the grenade launcher, which you got because 30-06 apparently wasn't enough for you.

It almost makes me wish more big FPS studios like Valve, Epic or DICE took their chances with the Wii U, because the console's unusual hardware adds for so many unique approaches to traditional games. Imagine being able to get an overview of a large map you're playing on, marking areas, selecting weapons or overviewing the match on the Gamepad with it's touchscreen, while being able to look right up at the TV and jump back in.

dr_st wrote on 2024-01-17, 21:25:

I finished the second of the two campaigns for Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars, having played the first one several years ago.

I have a soft spot for HOMM2 as well, since that was the first game in the series that I ever played. The music is also nicer than in the sequels, mostly due to the opera tracks which sound excellent to this day. Glad they used CD Audio for those.

I'm sure you know this, but I'll still say it for any readers that might be new to the game. Always use the original CD, not the expansion disc, while playing the main campaign. The music tracks differ between the two. For example, I always preferred the original Sorceress castle theme to the expansion version.

The last level of Roland's campaign is annoying and can easily overwhelm you with many enemy heroes and castles all aligned against you all over the map. You start taking their castles, and then they surprise you from the rear.

Yeah, that last mission is a doozy. I remember it being a lot easier if you have Dimension Door and/or Town Portal. Then, it's just a matter of having your strongest hero intercept any wannabe invaders. But getting either of those spells is pretty difficult, due to the random nature of the mage guilds.

Played Metroid Dread on my Nintendo Switch, one of the best game I have played in years! Being a 2d platformer rather than FPS was refreshing. Last boss was very challenging, had to look up some tips on defeating him.

I can really recommend it if you have a Switch.

Heh, I rarely do gaming these days, but earlier this week, I finally got around to dusting off my old PS3 after almost a decade since I last used it.

I put in a newer and bigger SSD (I love how easily you can do that with this console), reinstalled the OS and popped in Diablo 3, one of the few games I actually own for it. (I bought my PS3 primarily for use as a Blu-ray player, even though I haven't played Blu-rays in years either. It's all streaming video these days.)

I started playing and I enjoyed it, even though I started with a new character from scratch again. ☺️

I did think to myself "Hmmm, is 720p really the only resolution this game supports on this platform? I could have sworn I played it at 1080p back in the day..." I actually tried searching for the resolution slider in the settings, which kind of reveals that I used to be a PC gamer. 😂 But after some googling it became clear that, yep, this game only ran in 720p on the PS3. 😅 I guess I had to be reminded of the fact that this console came out back in 2006, years before 1080p gaming became commonplace, and this was actually the first console generation that even supported this resolution, at least for some games.

I made a pretty good replica of an A10 Warthog in KSP 1 and it's the first successful plane I've ever made in that game and it flies beautifully. I even made a pair of "bombs" using decouplers and the baguette fuel tanks. Then I made a pair of guided missiles out of the smallest solid rocket motors and some reaction wheels and probe cores. I can launch them and then quickly switch to them and put them on a target and they will usually hit the target I made for them. It's crazy all that you can do with this game. My two boys love playing it as well.

digger wrote on 2024-01-20, 14:25:

Heh, I rarely do gaming these days, but earlier this week, I finally got around to dusting off my old PS3 after almost a decade […]
Show full quote

Heh, I rarely do gaming these days, but earlier this week, I finally got around to dusting off my old PS3 after almost a decade since I last used it.

I put in a newer and bigger SSD (I love how easily you can do that with this console), reinstalled the OS and popped in Diablo 3, one of the few games I actually own for it. (I bought my PS3 primarily for use as a Blu-ray player, even though I haven't played Blu-rays in years either. It's all streaming video these days.)

I started playing and I enjoyed it, even though I started with a new character from scratch again. ☺️

I did think to myself "Hmmm, is 720p really the only resolution this game supports on this platform? I could have sworn I played it at 1080p back in the day..." I actually tried searching for the resolution slider in the settings, which kind of reveals that I used to be a PC gamer. 😂 But after some googling it became clear that, yep, this game only ran in 720p on the PS3. 😅 I guess I had to be reminded of the fact that this console came out back in 2006, years before 1080p gaming became commonplace, and this was actually the first console generation that even supported this resolution, at least for some games.

The PS3 was cool. Sadly sold my phat one to a colleague a few years ago. Many these consoles can run custom firmware if you are into that. I'm tempted to pick a slim console just to try it.

Joakim wrote on 2024-01-20, 14:51:

The PS3 was cool. Sadly sold my phat one to a colleague a few years ago. Many these consoles can run custom firmware if you are into that. I'm tempted to pick a slim console just to try it.

Yeah, I researched that a little as well, but jailbreaking it is a bit of a tricky process. It should be doable, and I deliberately did not update the firmware version to make it easier, but I need to sit down and take the time to perform the jailbreak properly.

I have been playing a few so-called "Metroidvanias" to determine which to complete next:

Blaster Master Zero 2
I completed the first game a year or so ago, and liked it for what it was (a much easier remake of Blaster Master on the NES). This is basically more of the same, though it has a fun structure where each stage is its own planet selected from a galaxy map. There are also smaller planets to explore, that are usually just a few screens large and have some upgrade to obtain.

One really bizarre thing with this game is that the controls are completely broken when using an Xbox One controller... it's simply unplayable because the mapping is all over the place, and half the buttons don't even register. I had to turn "Steam Input" on for this one, and now all is fine.

Axiom Verge
I should like this one more than I do, since it's probably the closest thing to the original Metroid in both look and structure/feel. The problem I have with this one is that the map is just way too sprawling, and you have way too many navigation abilities to unlock, most of which are really dull. You find a drill that can only break certain blocks, and then it's time to backtrack all over the world to find the one group of blocks you need to destroy. Then you find a gun that corrupts certain blocks, and then it's time to to backtrack all over the world to find the one group of blocks you need to corrupt. Instead of being excited when I find some new item, I instead feel dread at having to go all over the place looking for that one block I need to break next. Good music, though.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
I'm a few hours in, and not sure what to think about this one yet. It's by the guy who took the Castlevania series over after Symphony of the Night, so you'd think it would be awesome... but it's somewhat underwhelming. The polygonal backgrounds are really dull, with none of the character and detail of Symphony of the Night, and the map isn't really interesting or fun to explore. It feels great to control, but the combat is all over the place. Most regular enemies barely even interact with you... they just stand there or float around, and maybe launch a very telegraphed attack if you get very close and just stand there. The bosses, however, are major steps up in difficulty, but not very satisfying to fight. They have tons of HPs and do a lot of damage when they hit, so they're pretty deadly, but they seem to just have a couple of different attacks, so you just learn how to dodge those two attacks and tediously chip away at their HPs.

---

I'll shelve Axiom Verge for now, because I just find it to be really boring. Bloodstained isn't great so far, but I will probably play it here and there, whenever I feel like making some progress in it. That leaves Blaster Master Zero 2, which is the only one of the three that I think is really quite good.

So, my NVDA holding finally 10x'ed, so I took some profits and splurged on an RTX 4070 Super. First on the list of games I'd been putting off is Cyberpunk 2077.

I avoided this game like the plague when it came out. But I guess it turns out CD Projekt actually fixed it over the years? A lot of friends of mine have been telling me how good it is for a while now, so I decided to take them up on it. I'm not very far, but I can say Act 1 was an incredible start to the game. They set the stage for the finale so well I was legit nervous to enter what I knew was probably an unfailable scripted sequence. So super into the story. Gameplay seems good enough to not detract from it. I'm focusing on assault rifles and only dabbling in the other mechanics like stealth or hacking. I get by.

Suffers a bit from Ubisoft-itis with it's map full of icons it tries to OCD you into going full completionist on. And Night City as a game world is... I donno. I'm wowed by the character of it. But it's also so labyrinthine and inconsistently filled out you more or less, or at least I, rely almost exclusively on the map to find things to do and then follow the path it sets for me to get there. It's a bit too "autopilot" for my taste after Breath of the Wild made you actively explore to find the points of interest.

One thing I'm consistently amazed by is how god damned amazing the game looks in it's fully path traced mode. I never realized how much all the little tricks with rasterized lighting annoyed me until I played my first fully path traced game. Now it's all I see playing a more traditionally lit game. It's also incredible to me that a "mid range" graphics card like a 4070 can fully pathtrace a AAA title at 80+ FPS at 1440p. Sure, it's using AI upscaling, AI ray reconstruction, and AI frame generation. Strip all that away and I'm getting closer to 10-20 fps. All the same, I'm amazed at the technology and the experience.

Namrok wrote on 2024-01-26, 15:19:

Suffers a bit from Ubisoft-itis with it's map full of icons it tries to OCD you into going full completionist on.

Never tried the game myself, but I read about it when it came out and got the impression they improved the open world design very little from The Witcher 3. And it's quite crap in TW3 in my opinion, just waste of time so I wasn't in a hurry to give Cyberpunk a try. But sounds like it's still worth checking out once I finally upgrade, my main PC turns 10 next april/may so not exactly prime candinate for a cutting edge ray tracing showpiece. The Witcher 3 has a loooooong list of things I dislike or downright hate but I still love the game, I suppose Cyberpunk could be the same.

Installed and modded TESV: Skyrim, it's been ten years so maybe I'm finally ready to check the DLC's out so I can cross them off. Been in a bit of a dry season, haven't been in the mood to dive into anything that requires an actual brain so I figured an inch deep Bethesda puddle could work 😁

Cyberpunk today vs launch release is basically not comparable. After all the patches and the free DLC recently it's basically a new game and it's alot of fun. It's definitely worth giving it a try now.

I didn't experience a lot of bugs at launch with CP2077 (at least compared to other people), but what disappointed me the most was how short and on-rails the main quest was. The side quests were a mixed bag. One minor thing that annoyed me greatly was the inability to drive in first person perspective due to the dashboard blocking most of the road in front of me. Did they ever fix that?

But I was planning to get back to it at some point with all the fixes and new DLC, haven't had the time yet.

Found Cyberpunk 2077 to be pretty dull. Additionally I found the RPG leveling elements, skills/bonuses and such to be pretty obtuse. I was never really sure what anything really did. It didn't matter though, just pick up a gun and shoot. I was pretty disappointed in it.

Payed a couple of hours of Disco Elysium on my Lenovo T480, it is a different experience, a lot of talking but most of it is voice over. It seems to have an interesting lore. Being an RPG I feel a bit lost about character development and so.

I like the graphical style and it reminds me of fallout and old bioware titles but it has it's own style.

I like it so far!

Sombrero wrote on 2024-01-26, 18:34:

Installed and modded TESV: Skyrim, it's been ten years so maybe I'm finally ready to check the DLC's out so I can cross them off. Been in a bit of a dry season, haven't been in the mood to dive into anything that requires an actual brain so I figured an inch deep Bethesda puddle could work 😁

Turns out diving into an inch deep puddle head first isn't the greatest idea, I really tried to get into it but the longer I played the louder I groaned. I just can't deal with its Bethesdaisms and also I had forgotten how boring I find the grey tundra it takes place in.

Dry season continues.

Sombrero wrote on 2024-01-28, 14:49:

Sombrero wrote on 2024-01-26, 18:34:

Installed and modded TESV: Skyrim, it's been ten years so maybe I'm finally ready to check the DLC's out so I can cross them off. Been in a bit of a dry season, haven't been in the mood to dive into anything that requires an actual brain so I figured an inch deep Bethesda puddle could work 😁

Turns out diving into an inch deep puddle head first isn't the greatest idea, I really tried to get into it but the longer I played the louder I groaned. I just can't deal with its Bethesdaisms and also I had forgotten how boring I find the grey tundra it takes place in.

Dry season continues.

I have started playing Skyrim twice in the past, but never made it through it. It wasn't due to any specific issue I had with the game, but more that I just took a weeks long break from it and never got back into it. That happens with a lot of games for me. I'm either too busy to play for awhile or the game doesn't captivate me enough to stick with it. I have a lousy memory, so if I leave a game for a month, I usually forget what the story was about by the time I get back. If it's a game that I've sunk a bunch of hours in, I usually don't want to start over.

I actually started playing Skyrim a couple of months ago and have stuck with it this time. Rather than focus on the story, I have focused on exploring and enjoying the scenery (I limit fast travel), so that might be I've been able to stick with it this time.

Ensign Nemo wrote on 2024-01-28, 18:14:

I actually started playing Skyrim a couple of months ago and have stuck with it this time. Rather than focus on the story, I have focused on exploring and enjoying the scenery (I limit fast travel), so that might be I've been able to stick with it this time.

I think when I completed the base game the first and likely the only time it was the combination of wanting to explore and to get the best possible gear through smithing and enhancing that drove me forward. Petered out just about immediately once I got the gear and went to finish the main quest. I did try to start the first DLC but I was all out of fuel at that point, apparently still am.

Well, at least that saves me 10€ or so. I played the original Skyrim and have been tempted to get the Special Edition couple times from a GOG sale ever since it was released there.

Sombrero wrote on 2024-01-28, 14:49:

Dry season continues.

If you're looking for a good open world RPG then I recommend The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos - best game I've played in years.

badmojo wrote on 2024-01-28, 23:17:

If you're looking for a good open world RPG then I recommend The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos - best game I've played in years.

A Gothic II mod? Interesting. Any particular reason why you like it? Never been big on large content mods for games myself, even when they are otherwise well done they usually fall flat on their faces when it comes to writing especially if they have voice acting.

I've never actually played the Gothic games, a long time ago I tried the first or second one but even back then found the controls way too clunky for me. Haven't given them a second chance because I don't think anything has changed in that regard. Too bad really, otherwise they seem like something I would like.