xcomcmdr wrote on 2020-12-14, 15:08:

I prefer the sequel Syndicate Wars. The 3D engine and free camera movement imported from Dungeon Keeper is very nice.

A lot of Syndicate fans hated Wars, but I agree, I prefer this one myself. Great atmosphere and seeing an entire building blow up was a sight to behold (well, for 1996 software rendered 3D anyway).

I'm playing some cities skylines. I'm always coming back too this and if can eat dozens of hours before I get bored!

I've also tried to get into cyberpunk but it's just a little too rough around the edges for me to get into.

xcomcmdr wrote on 2020-12-14, 15:08:

I prefer the sequel Syndicate Wars. The 3D engine and free camera movement imported from Dungeon Keeper is very nice.

Speaking of which, this coincidentally popped up on Unseen64 today. >> https://www.unseen64.net/2020/12/14/bluevault … dios-cancelled/

Looks like it could have been interesting in a Syndicate kind of way.

Finished Beyond Good & Evil. The end boss finale was total bullshit.

kolderman wrote on 2020-12-14, 18:39:

Finished Beyond Good & Evil. The end boss finale was total bullshit.

Man, I remember how much that annoyed me. It's the one where the controls invert on you right? Always rubbed me the wrong way that the game never gave you a lower stakes situation to practice/even know that would be a thing.

Namrok wrote on 2020-12-14, 18:41:

kolderman wrote on 2020-12-14, 18:39:

Finished Beyond Good & Evil. The end boss finale was total bullshit.

Man, I remember how much that annoyed me. It's the one where the controls invert on you right? Always rubbed me the wrong way that the game never gave you a lower stakes situation to practice/even know that would be a thing.

Yes, but strangely the reversed controls were the least of the worry. Just series of beyond difficult encounters without any save points meaning you need to do it all in one setting. And winning was less about actual skill/reflex than memorizing patterns and sheer luck. I have to say it was a good game overall though.

I'm now back at playing the original 4 NES Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest) games on NES, and recording them for YouTube - with commentary. Just finished my 3rd and final LP for Bigfoot. I'm thinking about doing some Monkey Island 1 & 2 in between grinding for DQ1/2/3/4 so I can build up a nice cache of Content and upload over the course of DOScember + the whole of 2021 (inter-sped with my guitar and other various tinkerer lunacy content).

After 22 hours, I finally made it to Necrom's Lair in CyberMage. I'm guessing it won't be long til I get to the final battle with him, for sure in less than an hour of gameplay. So this game should be done in the next day or two.

Without walkthrus, I either would've walked away from this game or took another 20 hours. A few of the levels are extremely large, detailed, multi-leveled and confusing to navigate. But I'm never opposed to walkthrus, so that's a non-issue for me. I just want to have fun with a game and if that means looking up hints or watching walkthrus, then so be it. It's been a great, entertaining game and I'm glad I gave it a 2nd chance.

Yes, that really large level with lots of switch puzzles really needs a walkthrough. It becomes really confusing, even if the automap is really good (it handles large levels and rooms over rooms decently without going overboard like Descent or Terminator : Future Shock did).
For me, it's the only bad spot in this very unique game.

xcomcmdr wrote on 2020-12-15, 10:44:

Yes, that really large level with lots of switch puzzles really needs a walkthrough. It becomes really confusing, even if the automap is really good (it handles large levels and rooms over rooms decently without going overboard like Descent or Terminator : Future Shock did).
For me, it's the only bad spot in this very unique game.

The SARCorp level (level 5) and The Temple (level 9) each took 3.5 hours to clear and were by far the longest-lasting levels in the game!

Finally got round to starting the Wonder Boy : Dragon's Trap 2017 remake. So cool.

I had totally forgotten about the secondary gameplay mechanic of the bonus weapons (boomerangs, spears, tornados, etc). I guess it has been 25 years between plays.

And the music, such classic stuff from Sega.

Between this, Sonic Mania, and next year's Alex Kidd DX - to name a few - we who grew up with Master Systems are really fortunate.

I'm playing Shovel Knight and it's a little difficult for me to advance but i'm enjoying it so much, sometimes i also play L4D2 in modded servers and it's a lot of fun.

Now that I finished CyberMage, I'm in the decision phase for my next game. Generally, I like to bounce back and forth between RPG and FPS, and I've now played two FPS in a row (Bioshock and CyberMage). So it seems like I should be ready to dive into an RPG, but I'm actually leaning towards another FPS. I wonder if one year of Wizardrys has burned me out on the genre. 🤣. Anyhow, here are the games I'm considering next:
RPG
Eschalon Book III (a heavy favorite. I LOVED Book I and Book II)
Ultima VIII: Pagan (never got around to beating this back in the day)

FPS
Half-Life 2: Update (never beat this one either, I did get about 1/3 through it when it came out)
Metro: Last Light (beat Exodus, never played any other Metros)
Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (never beat this one, though I have beaten Dark Forces)
Doom 3: BFG Edition (played this back in the day but never got close to beating it)

I spent the morning testing out several games and ruled out (at least for this time around) Arcanum, Underworld Ascendant, Avernum and Avadon, and Splinter Cell Blacklist. I have tons more options in my library but none of them are calling out to me right now. 😀

I would've loved to play Ultima VIII along with (soft of..) someone and share experiences from time to time, as I never actually got past the starting area and first type of magic (necromancy was it?) in this game either. Alas, I have too much on my plate already 😀

Half life 2 and Metro last light are seriously fun games.

Isn't Ultima VIII super buggy and frustrating ?
The last good one was Ultima VII

I'd say Doom III vanilla (not BFG Edition). The retro one, without the duct tape mod, and without the BFG modifications that made it too easy and not scary at all.

xcomcmdr wrote on 2020-12-18, 14:16:

Isn't Ultima VIII super buggy and frustrating ?
The last good one was Ultima VII

I'd say Doom III vanilla (not BFG Edition). The retro one, without the duct tape mod, and without the BFG modifications that made it too easy and not scary at all.

Yeah, I loved and beat both U7 Pt1 and Pt2 and was sorely disappointed by U8 when it came out. I didn't get very far, it was buggy and introduced platforming which was frustrating. But it is an Ultima, and I'm a huge Ultima fan, and other Origin games have aged well with me, so it's on my list.

Vanilla Doom vs BFG...I'm on the fence. I'm not a hardcore gamer, much more casual, so the idea of the flashlight mod actually appeals to me. I don't know, I think I'd enjoy either.

ATM I'm leaning towards HL2, followed by Eschalon Book 3.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

At the moment, I'm playing through the original PC version of Final Fantasy VII. Now that I have an AWE64 Gold, I am finally able to experience the game's music in its full glory.

There's a special setting in the config tool which is custom tailored towards AWE cards with at least 4 MB of memory. With that setting selected, the game automatically loads its own custom soundfonts into memory which brings the music on par with the PlayStation version. And yes, Sephiroth's theme does have vocals on this setup, I checked.

clueless1 wrote on 2020-12-18, 14:30:

ATM I'm leaning towards HL2, followed by Eschalon Book 3.

HL2 is great fun and not super long from memory which I always like in a game 👍

Half Life 2 was the biggest hyperbole hype train I ever played. Incredibly bad, boring, [LOADING...] scripted and linear gameplay, some of the most attrocious [LOADING...] driving and platforming sections in any game I [LOADING...] played and a shitty anticlimactic cliffhanger ending to a mediocre story that never ended up going anywhere.

The best things about Half Life 2 for me were Full Life Consequences and Freeman's Mind.

To each their own I guess.