Demetrio wrote on 2023-12-25, 04:04:

Started playing the first Assassin's Creed

IMG-20231225-WA0000.jpg

Judging by comments, I expected it to be more "clunky" regarding gameplay mechanics, but I'm actually not having such problems; on the contrary, I am enjoying it so far.

The problem is not necessarily that it's clunky, more like controls are way oversimplified to the point where there is very little input on your part to play the game. Like holding a button and pressing an analog stick forward and all the climbing/traversing is done by the game. Same for the fights. You just have to wait for the counter and you are unbeatable. Not a very stimulating gameplay experience.

Demetrio wrote on 2023-12-25, 04:04:

I've bought the Assassin's Creeds until Revelations on Steam for few euros: they were one of the most talked games by classmates during high school; by that time, I wasn't interested in them, but now I have the curiosity to try them out.

Back then as a high school boy I was very interested in the game...

I even got the Limited Edition for the X360. And was very disappointed by the game.

Demetrio wrote on 2023-12-25, 04:04:

Started playing the first Assassin's Creed

IMG-20231225-WA0000.jpg

Judging by comments, I expected it to be more "clunky" regarding gameplay mechanics, but I'm actually not having such problems; on the contrary, I am enjoying it so far.

After some hours in the game, I take back what I said 😁
Controls sometimes made me jump from ledges without my consent, causing infuriating deaths...

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-12-28, 09:36:

The problem is not necessarily that it's clunky, more like controls are way oversimplified to the point where there is very little input on your part to play the game. Like holding a button and pressing an analog stick forward and all the climbing/traversing is done by the game. Same for the fights. You just have to wait for the counter and you are unbeatable. Not a very stimulating gameplay experience.

I agree on this: after unlocking the counter, I was unstoppable. Moreover, Altair can also break the holds, making it unfair for the NPCs 😁

I'm also finding the game pretty ripetitive, as missions for now seem to be identical, but despite this I'm still enjoying it.
Be it the story, the environments, the middle ages atmosphere, I'm having a good experience playing it, even relaxing when climbing on buildings 😁

But yeah, it has various flaws, which I believe were addressed in Assassin's Creed 2.

Demetrio wrote on 2023-12-28, 14:00:

I'm also finding the game pretty ripetitive, as missions for now seem to be identical, but despite this I'm still enjoying it.

Totally repetitive. One of the only AAA games that I simply tossed out in the middle and never came back. For me the frustration overpowered the good aspects of it. Probably because I spent too much time between sessions, and lost the attachment to the story. 😕

Demetrio wrote on 2023-12-28, 14:00:

But yeah, it has various flaws, which I believe were addressed in Assassin's Creed 2.

I actually have both, as part of the I & II "Ultimate Collection". Maybe I'll give the sequel a shot one of these days...

Demetrio wrote on 2023-12-28, 14:00:

I'm also finding the game pretty ripetitive, as missions for now seem to be identical, but despite this I'm still enjoying it.
Be it the story, the environments, the middle ages atmosphere, I'm having a good experience playing it, even relaxing when climbing on buildings 😁

But yeah, it has various flaws, which I believe were addressed in Assassin's Creed 2.

Yep, it's very repetitive. The repetitiveness was fixed in the sequel, the story telling also improved a lot which makes it a lot more engaging game, but the controls are still oversimplified and combat still relies heavily on counters. The first game feels like a techdemo in comparison.

But indeed they nailed the 10th century middle east atmosphere and I wish they'd remake the first AC with content worth experiencing. But at this point even if they did, Ubisoft is permanently on my naughty list and will never buy anything from them ever again (except old games that doesn't require an online account).

Playing some transport tycoon yesterday. The music soothed my soul and it's fun with the clunky railway track building.

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-12-28, 14:43:

Ubisoft is permanently on my naughty list and will never buy anything from them ever again (except old games that doesn't require an online account).

Initially, I had continuous short freezes during my playthrough.
I thought they were caused by Windows 11, because the game (PC version) is from 2008, but actually they weren't: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filede … /?id=3046189346

Ubisoft... 🙃

West of Loathing
Well, this was a pleasant surprise. I knew of this game, but was under the mistaken assumption that it was basically just a joke game for hipsters. Instead, it turns out to be a funny RPG... but it's a REAL RPG and no joke, with freeform character building, unique companions to find, a nonlinear structure with plenty of optional stuff, multiple solutions to quests based on your build, and fine turn-based combat.

It's got a really unique look, as all the characters are stick figures and the entire game is in black and white... like the game is being drawn by a kid on his notebook during a boring class. It looks sort of dull and annoying in screenshots, but looks great in motion.

So far, it's very easy, but I'm fine with that. It's more of a "sandbox" type of game where you just explore and see what happens, and what you can and cannot do with your build and the choices you've made. It would probably be really fun to replay this one.

Prodeus
This has been on my radar for a while, so I finally took the plunge and gave it a play. So far, it's a lot of fun! The level design is alright so far (mostly open, without many "monster arenas"), and it's a joy to play... fast, and the weapons feel great. You can choose from 2D sprites or 3D models for the monsters, but so far I prefer the 2D sprites. They sprites are actually extremely impressive, as they've been drawn/rendered from MANY angles (even from overhead!)... I've never seen this done to this extent before, and it's very cool.

Joakim wrote on 2023-12-28, 17:44:

Playing some transport tycoon yesterday. The music soothed my soul and it's fun with the clunky railway track building.

Love this game. I put so many hours into this game. Funny enough I found some of my saved games from 26 years ago on a hard disk.

newtmonkey wrote on 2023-12-29, 07:48:

They sprites are actually extremely impressive, as they've been drawn/rendered from MANY angles (even from overhead!)... I've never seen this done to this extent before, and it's very cool.

I think the 2D sprites are generated from the 3D models in real time.

I finished the 4 acts of Ultimate Doom and will be moving on to SIGIL

Law212 wrote on 2023-12-29, 19:20:

I finished the 4 acts of Ultimate Doom and will be moving on to SIGIL

How did you like it so far?

Law212 wrote on 2023-12-29, 19:20:

I finished the 4 acts of Ultimate Doom and will be moving on to SIGIL

I liked Sigil a lot more than the fourth episode of Ultimate Doom. The level design was much better, despite the few annoying sections that you spend on narrow ledges.

That said, my favorite Doom expansion would be the "No Rest for the Living" episode for Doom 2. It was included as a bonus with Doom 3 BFG edition. That episode encapsulates classic Doom gameplay in all of its glory, with superbly crafted levels that don't rely on gimmicks, tricks or cheesy enemy placement. Just pure fun.

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-12-29, 11:03:

I think the 2D sprites are generated from the 3D models in real time.

If so, it's even more impressive that they went through the trouble! It's a cool effect.

---

West of Loathing
This is just such a relaxing RPG to play. There are no stakes at all (you cannot die as far as I can tell), but the game is designed around that. It autosaves as you play, so you have to stick with your choices. Since you cannot die or get stuck, you basically "fail forward" even if you make a really dumb choice. It rewards exploration and experimentation, and it's very liberating! If there's a giant spider waiting in a mine shaft, why not walk right in there? Maybe something cool will happen.

The game is very jokey, but the humor is good natured. It's a breath of fresh air in 2023, where humor now tends to be sarcastic or just a bunch of references to memes. The game constantly throws jokes at you, and they aren't all winners, but even the bad ones bring a smile to my face.

There's so much to do in this game. You are constantly discovering new locations by talking to people, reading documents, and examining items. Each location has its own little story or joke, which would alone be worth it in such a cleverly written game, but you also find lots of stuff and gain EXP, which can then be used to increase your skills to give you even more options for exploring and solving quests.

Highly, highly recommended so far!

UnEpic
This is a so-called "metroidvania" I got years ago in some bundle, and just got around to trying it out recently. It leaves a bad first impression, as it's very jokey but in the sarcastic, crass way you'd expect of a game released in 2011. Once you get past that, though, the game is actually very interesting! It actually plays less like a modern metroidvania, and more like proto-metroidvanias such as The Maze of Galious (MSX), Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family (MSX, FC/NES), or Zeliard (PC-8801, DOS). There seems to be less of a focus on gaining abilities to access new areas (as in the metroidvanias), and instead a greater focus on just exploring and figuring the dungeon out.

One minor thing that I really like about this game is how important light is. The dungeon is mostly dark, so all you can see is the area around your character (who is holding a torch)... but you can also use your torch to permanently light sconces and other fixtures, so that the dungeon will stay visible. It gives you something else to accomplish other than pure exploration and killing enemies, and it feels surprisingly satisfying to completely light a room (the game even plays a little jingle when you do this).

So far, a very cool game.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-12-29, 22:44:

Law212 wrote on 2023-12-29, 19:20:

I finished the 4 acts of Ultimate Doom and will be moving on to SIGIL

I liked Sigil a lot more than the fourth episode of Ultimate Doom. The level design was much better, despite the few annoying sections that you spend on narrow ledges.

That said, my favorite Doom expansion would be the "No Rest for the Living" episode for Doom 2. It was included as a bonus with Doom 3 BFG edition. That episode encapsulates classic Doom gameplay in all of its glory, with superbly crafted levels that don't rely on gimmicks, tricks or cheesy enemy placement. Just pure fun.

I didnt know that Doom 3 bgf had an expansion for Doom 2. I wonder if you can play it in doom 2 for windows 95. Ill have to check it out

Law212 wrote on 2023-12-30, 20:20:

I didnt know that Doom 3 bgf had an expansion for Doom 2. I wonder if you can play it in doom 2 for windows 95. Ill have to check it out

I think the expansion uses some advanced features which might not work correctly in the original Doom 2 engine. Not entirely sure. Of course, you can run it straight from Doom 3 BFG Edition, but I encountered some screen tearing when trying that. Also, whatever emulation they used for music didn't sound so great.

In the end, I used Crispy Doom which is a source port that remains fairly true to the original game. It worked great there, and I was also able to set up the music to my liking.

dr_st wrote on 2023-12-29, 22:15:

Law212 wrote on 2023-12-29, 19:20:

I finished the 4 acts of Ultimate Doom and will be moving on to SIGIL

How did you like it so far?

I enjoyed it for the most part. There were a level or 2 in act 3 that annoyed me. I died a lot. ALso I accdently saved instead of loaded a couple times which messed me up. I also accidently saved while falling into a lava pit.
Also , im using mouse and keyboard and the mouse moves me forward and back to much and sometimes messes me up

Law212 wrote on 2023-12-30, 21:10:

Also , im using mouse and keyboard and the mouse moves me forward and back to much and sometimes messes me up

I think that there is a way to disable vertical mouse movement in the original Doom executables... Not sure how exactly.

In any case, I always played the original games under DOS keyboard only.

Law212 wrote on 2023-12-30, 21:10:

Also , im using mouse and keyboard and the mouse moves me forward and back to much and sometimes messes me up

If you're using the DOS version, download NOVERT and run it before starting the game.

It's a TSR utility which disables up/down mouse movement. Works great with Doom 1&2 and Heretic. I've been using it for years.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-12-31, 06:33:

Law212 wrote on 2023-12-30, 21:10:

Also , im using mouse and keyboard and the mouse moves me forward and back to much and sometimes messes me up

If you're using the DOS version, download NOVERT and run it before starting the game.

It's a TSR utility which disables up/down mouse movement. Works great with Doom 1&2 and Heretic. I've been using it for years.

Thats great , and will come in handy but im using Ultimate doom win 95 version

Started playing Final Fantasy 7 Remake a couple of days ago. It's an interesting game to be sure, but my first impressions are mixed.

First, the good stuff. Despite me playing this on a PS4 Pro, the graphics look amazing. In particular, the character models are of very high quality, and can almost match the CGI used in the FF7 Advent Children movie. Environments look great too, for the most part. There are a few instances where low-res textures are used, and sometimes assets take too long to stream in. But overall, this game looks absolutely gorgeous.

Sound design is exceptional as well. The voice acting is great, and I'm happy that the entire Japanese cast from the AC movie got to reprise their roles. That said, the English voice overs are solid too, but I'm simply used to the original Japanese version. The music is mostly good, especially the variations of the familiar tracks from the original game. But the newly created tunes are a mixed bag. Some are decent, while others don't really fit the game. And the "old school" renditions of the tracks that come from jukeboxes are often too distorted to be enjoyable.

The combat is somewhat fun, but I wish it had an actual turn-based option like the original game. The "Classic" difficulty setting isn't a proper substitute. As for the new side quests, they are lazily designed and of generic MMO quality. Meaning, it's always either "defeat x enemies" at a certain location, or "gather x things" and bring them back. Very lame.

Story wise, I do appreciate expanding the lore behind some of the background characters like Jessie, Wedge and Biggs. They feel much more important this time around. What I don't like are the main plot revisions which make this game deviate too heavily from the original. It feels very "fan fictiony" despite being written by the original creators, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, I'm about 10 hours in, but the game hasn't really grown on me yet. Mostly because there's so much bland, filler content. Other times, you are forced to slowly walk around (can't run or leave the area) while listening to exposition. There's also an overabundance of cutscenes, which tend to pop up every 5 minutes or so. And while these do look great, they make the game feel like an interactive movie at times. Some of the puzzles and mini games are also a bit tedious.