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zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
110,509
29,090
146
I've been going through the Final Fantasy 13 games for some reason, because of the Steam summer sale. I guess I got drunk one night and they ended up in my cart?

Anyway....the PC ports are, indeed terrible. buggy as hell and you do have to disable cloud saves or your saves will corrupt and become unplayable. That, and you have to install large address aware.

These are old games now for sure, and I had long-lost interest in this series (which I more or less grew up on when FF1 was released for NES), but I felt I would go back and try them out.

The first one...the criticism is apt. Hyper linear to the point that you feel like the first 20-40 hours is just a prologue, a rather obnoxious new combat system where you only control one character and it boils down to single-button pushing auto-attacking where 98% of the battles have the AI deciding your skills and actions. ...far, far cry from FFIX. But, it "opens up" near the end...meaning by ~60 hours, when you get a single "open worldish" map that provides all of the exploring and farming. The story is weird and mostly crap, like the characters, but it's still kind of interesting....the villains in these games have been the same since ~FF VIII: generic plug-in some weirdly-dressed person with some unexplained motivations that must be stopped. Still, it's better than the next one.

FF13-2. 2 characters, and some monsters that you capture and train, which provides the bulk of your party customizations. I mean....it's "neat" for one of those low-rent FF experiments like FF Legends, but the two main characters are completely useless. I can't stand them. The time-traveling stuff is actually kinda cool, with the different eras on the same maps, and the story does open up and near the end....really becomes rather haunting. It put me in "a mood." Stupid games like this aren't supposed to do this to me anymore. But there is something there with one of the main characters. The bulk of the gameplay in this, though, is forgettable.

FF13: Lightning Returns: I think this is my favorite, even though it is entirely dependent on one of my most hated and mercifully rare game mechanics: the persistent clock with timed countdown until the end.--like Majora's Mask, which I barely played because of this. I just want to take my time. I don't want to have to run around from place to place as efficiently as possible just to make sure I get everything I need and, at least, am properly leveled to handle a situation where I find myself stuck in front of an unbeatable boss, which happens. But--the battle system is wonderful. The world is really chill. The story...eh I don't know yet. Not down but it seems a bit obvious. Leveling through quests only does add that pressure to make sure you finish as many as you can, and once you get used to juggling the time pausing skill and replenishing your skill meter for it, you find that you end up with more time than you need, but the pressure to beat the clock is always there, regardless. If you ignore the dress-up aspect of it and just focus on the skill aspects, it's a solid system that is both actiony and classic FF-RPG. The fights can be really hard if you find yourself woefully underleveled, which normally isn't a problem because you would just go farm xp and fix the problem. But here you don't have time, and you feel that once you get to the end with a major boss, you don't want to waste time traveling somewhere else and losing major time. Even if it probably doesn't matter in the end....it matters. So you struggle and find a way to cheese your way through fights--(like cursing and using the -ga spells to juggle a dude in the air, near-constantly, until the fight ends, lol).
Anyway, I think this one is probably one of those panned gems that is worth a look if you haven't played it before or even another look if you didn't like it. It has a new game+ mode with better gear, supposedly, but I'm not sure if I have serious interest in running back through things.
 

OCNewbie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2000
7,603
24
81
I've been playing Quake 2 deathmatch again, like it's going out of style (wait... maybe that already happened).
 

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
3,979
839
136
Diablo III, Project CARS 2, Mad Max and Wolfenstein are my latest batch of games that I'm slowly chipping away at.
 

Igo69

Senior member
Apr 26, 2015
716
101
106
I have been replaying FEAR now after so many years the game is still very fun
 

paperfist

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2000
6,517
280
126
www.the-teh.com
Just finished playing Shadow of Mordor.

Gawd dayum this was a great game. It builds on the solid combat mechanics of the Batman Arkham Asylum games and sprinkles some strategy on top with the Nemesis system and the Orc style politics. Solid open world gameplay with the standard mix of story missions (that are thankfully written vaguely enough that the game's story does not encounter the same pitfall so many open games do where all sense of urgency is lost) as well as collectibles and challenges that were actually fun to find and complete.

The nemesis system was an absolute blast, really getting me to hate some of the named captains who's strengths and weaknesses directly contradicted my play style. Later in the game your character learns the ability dominate the minds of orcs and you get to partake in the various rivalries, assassination attempts, hunts etc that the captains take on when they're not fighting you to boost your guys up the ranks in Sauron's army. Have one of your "sleeper" orcs infiltrate the bodyguard of a war chief, then have them turn on him in the heat of combat, so now your Orc is a war chief. That one captain that was really pissing you off and won't stay dead? Defeat and "brand" him and now he's their problem, not yours.

Its incredible.

WB really knows how to manage their properties (with the Batman games as well as Shadow of Mordor for LOTR). Both games do a fantastic job building their world, providing a challenge, but ultimately letting the player walk away with a solid but understated feeling their the PC is the real BAMF in that universe.

Not sure what I'm going to play next, but after the High Fantasy third person combat I'm thinking I might take a refresher with one of the new Shadowrun games or a sci-fi FPS to keep things fresh.

I really need to get back to that game. It was so amazing to me, but I kept getting my aaa kicked over and over again that I stopped playing. Plus it gave me the creeps a bit lol
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
110,509
29,090
146
I really need to get back to that game. It was so amazing to me, but I kept getting my aaa kicked over and over again that I stopped playing. Plus it gave me the creeps a bit lol

It's definitely a fun game and can be difficult at first, before you realize how easily you can get ambushed by suddenly-difficult underlings and semi-chieftans or whatever. ...I forget the guy now, but there was this one orc, early on, not even any kind of chieftan, that was ranged focused and would always show up out of nowhere and utterly wreck my shit. Just...I couldn't do anything against him because his natural mechanics defending against my persistent cheese: stun block, back defense, mele defense etc. Everything he was was completely built against my play style, lol

It got to the point where I had eventually become that demigod with all the l33t skills unlocked, controlling an army of serious orc cheiftens and whatever, rolling over anything I wanted to roll over, the final act....that jackass orc would still show up and be the only thing that caused me to run from a fight, lol. They absolutely get stronger every time they kill you. ....but once I eventually killed him, it was done. I served his head up quite a few times after that, and it was very satisfying.
 

paperfist

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2000
6,517
280
126
www.the-teh.com
It's definitely a fun game and can be difficult at first, before you realize how easily you can get ambushed by suddenly-difficult underlings and semi-chieftans or whatever. ...I forget the guy now, but there was this one orc, early on, not even any kind of chieftan, that was ranged focused and would always show up out of nowhere and utterly wreck my shit. Just...I couldn't do anything against him because his natural mechanics defending against my persistent cheese: stun block, back defense, mele defense etc. Everything he was was completely built against my play style, lol

It got to the point where I had eventually become that demigod with all the l33t skills unlocked, controlling an army of serious orc cheiftens and whatever, rolling over anything I wanted to roll over, the final act....that jackass orc would still show up and be the only thing that caused me to run from a fight, lol. They absolutely get stronger every time they kill you. ....but once I eventually killed him, it was done. I served his head up quite a few times after that, and it was very satisfying.


lol that's pretty much what happened to me. It was a skinny dude who got in my head. I was always close to beating him and he either called for help or had a finish move that I couldn't counter. After a few encounters my fail kept increasing his level over mine and I threw in the towel.

So you beat him by luck in the end even with your l33t skills?
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,494
470
126
Currently:
Elex
Escape from Tarkov (when my buddy is home)
Breath of the Wild on Wii U.
 

dasherHampton

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2018
2,543
488
96
I was trying the game Oblivion as a pure archer. I've always enjoyed using bows in games.

Is it even possible to complete Oblivion that way? Most of the combat so far involves me running around in circles with enemies chasing me, jumping up on a rock or something, and firing arrows at them. Rinse and repeat.

Will that work against the tougher guys, like in the towers? It's hard for me to imagine trying to escape and defeat multiple tough enemies in an enclosed space. Will I get super arrows eventually that can one or two shot the bad guys?

Or do I have to learn some melee or magic as well, which kind of defeats the purpose of being a pure archer.
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
I was trying the game Oblivion as a pure archer. I've always enjoyed using bows in games.

Is it even possible to complete Oblivion that way? Most of the combat so far involves me running around in circles with enemies chasing me, jumping up on a rock or something, and firing arrows at them. Rinse and repeat.

Will that work against the tougher guys, like in the towers? It's hard for me to imagine trying to escape and defeat multiple tough enemies in an enclosed space. Will I get super arrows eventually that can one or two shot the bad guys?

Or do I have to learn some melee or magic as well, which kind of defeats the purpose of being a pure archer.

Plain archer will be rough. Archer/mage combo perfectly doable.
 

dasherHampton

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2018
2,543
488
96
So no go on the archer. No super one shot arrows.

Oh well, I'm not that far. I haven't even picked up Sean Bean yet. I guess I'll restart and try the archer/mage thing.

I guess I'll need magic that Incapacitates enemies, like freeze and sleep.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,494
470
126
Archery in Oblivion is actually one of the most overpowered ways to play early on if you couple it with stealth. Sneak attacks from a bow can let you cheese almost every single boss and enemy in the entire game. Magic, on the other hand, is next to useless without heavy modding. If you want a true overpowered run, go with your standard two-handed orc and kill the final boss in one swing.

Now, on the subject of Oblivion, I have to recommend using FCOM since it adds so much to the game. The installation is a bit lengthy and can get confusing at times (unless dev_akm built the compiler he was always talking about), but it's well worth it. I usually replay Oblivion once a year and I can't justify even thinking about playing Oblivion without FCOM.
 

dasherHampton

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2018
2,543
488
96
I played a long oblivion game with a melee character (like 150 hours). I was powerful enough by the end to one or two shot everything. It was basically "stun with shield and kill". So I'm good on that; don't need to do it again.

Sorry for my lack of knowledge - what do you mean "cheese"? Do you mean one shot, or incapacitate? Does that work when there are like 5 of those demon dudes in the oblivion towers, or if you find yourself in a big battle?

It would be great to not have to start over.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,494
470
126
Sorry for my lack of knowledge - what do you mean "cheese"? Do you mean one shot, or incapacitate? Does that work when there are like 5 of those demon dudes in the oblivion towers, or if you find yourself in a big battle?
Cheesing is basically taking advantage of game mechanics to give yourself an unfair advantage. Like abusing Bethesda's broken mechanics in two ways: 1. abuse their broken barriers and jump/walk to a high point on the room/area where the melee fighters can't reach you. 2. Abuse their broken detection system by going into stealth mode and shooting someone in the head, then wait a few seconds for them to search for you and then give up, then you can sneak attack them again.

You don't even have to abuse the broken detection system. You can just get to a higher point and pump people full of arrows. Still, once you get your stealth and bow skills upgraded a bit, you can easily one-shot most enemies from halfway across a room. If they are within your sight range, you can kill them with a single arrow. Also, if you use FCOM, there's a few really good bows that are available to be picked up if you know their location (though they are situated in high-level areas). Not to mention FCOM increases poison's potency, so if you are having trouble with a certain boss or high level enemy (FCOM also removes level scaling and gives everyone a static level), you can horde/craft/buy some strong poisons to help you out.
 

OCNewbie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2000
7,603
24
81
Now, on the subject of Oblivion, I have to recommend using FCOM since it adds so much to the game. The installation is a bit lengthy and can get confusing at times (unless dev_akm built the compiler he was always talking about), but it's well worth it. I usually replay Oblivion once a year and I can't justify even thinking about playing Oblivion without FCOM.
I haven't played Oblivion since before Skyrim came out. You mentioning this FCOM mod/overhaul has me intrigued. Maybe I'll have to give it a try again.
 

Vivendi

Senior member
Nov 21, 2013
697
37
91
Just finished a playthrough of Mirrors Edge...
...the level design/perspective often forces you out of the "flow" when your path forward or where you should go becomes unclear...The story was completely forgetable...Despite all my criticism against the game, I did find enough to like to play it to the end....

I played Mirror's Edge back in 2009 when it came out on PC and I remember nothing of the story so I'd agree with all the points you made. All in all, a great game I think but the story was just bad... all I remember is that maybe she was some sort of delivery girl and trying to find her father's killer?... could be way off.
 
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GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
6,715
7,004
136
I played Mirror's Edge back in 2009 when it came out on PC and I remember nothing of the story so I'd agree with all the points you made. All in all, a great game I think but the story was just bad... all I remember is that maybe she was some sort of delivery girl and trying to find her father's killer?... could be way off.

-A runner (basically a delivery girl) trying to clear her sister's name of murder (sister was framed).

It was clearly trying to be artsy about the whole concept and needed the barest thread of motivation to keep you moving forward.
 
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DigDog

Lifer
Jun 3, 2011
13,443
2,083
126
There is no such thing as archery in oblivion/skyrim. Perhaps you meant magic/archery/stealth/alchemy/blacksmithing??
(all the while hopping around due to Athletics?)

Me im still computer-less so im playing chess and a android rpg called Day R Survival that has some pretty stronk Fallout 1 vibes to it. Do like, 8/10
 

dasherHampton

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2018
2,543
488
96
Yeah, I know the archer class has other subclasses but I really wanted to try to complete the game solely using bow and arrow. You know - as an extreme challenge.
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
Yeah, I know the archer class has other subclasses but I really wanted to try to complete the game solely using bow and arrow. You know - as an extreme challenge.

Welll... You could go ultimate cheese mode, and make some armor pieces that gives you a combined 60-70%+ chameleon and then also use a spell to give you enough chameleon to get to 100% and then no one can see you and you can use bow to kill everyone.
 

dasherHampton

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2018
2,543
488
96
I finally tried F1 2012. Don't like it.

Part of it's the game and part of it's me. The driving physics are really substandard. There's no natural feel of inertia at all; it's like pushing an attached brick around a track. Any "natural feel" a person has for driving is essentially negated.

You have to follow the driving lines presented for you by the game. If you don't you will lose massive amounts of time. And it's not only the driving line; all braking and accelerating into and out of corners must be done exactly in accordance with what the game expects. I've been playing F1 games since the classic psygnosis games for PS1 and this is the least attached to the car and track I've ever felt in a F1 game.

And now to the "me" part - I'm just not interested in relearning every track incorporating the DSR and KERS. Such gimmicks. Maybe someone just starting to play F1 games will enjoy them but they're not for me.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,494
470
126
Yeah, I know the archer class has other subclasses but I really wanted to try to complete the game solely using bow and arrow. You know - as an extreme challenge.
If you're not going to be using Stealth with your bow, then I don't see it happening unless you add something else like some extreme Acrobatics or as Rifter said, abuse the Chameleon mechanic. If you just want to go straight in with a bow and facetank everyone, you're not going to make it very far. Stealth combined with a bow is vastly overpowered and provides zero challenge to the game.