What are you playing now? [Chat + Discussions]

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dasherHampton

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2018
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I've kind of moved on from the pure archer thing. I remember some of the battles in the end were hard enough with an overpowered melee character. They'd probably be impossible trying just to use a bow.

I might come back to it sometime in the future and try something else. I still have that hankering to complete the game again, plus I haven't done the expansions yet. My original game was vanilla Oblivion only. I heard the Knights of the Nine is pretty cool.

I love just riding around and listening to the music. Something about it gets to me.
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,494
470
126
They'd probably be impossible trying just to use a bow.
I don't understand why you're still skeptical after a few of us have told you outright that a stealth archer is the most overpowered class in the game. Also, if you don't use a level-scaling mod (even OOO - Oscuros Oblivion Overhaul), then it won't matter what class you play because every encounter will be challenging. The level scaling introduced in Oblivion was downright stupid.
 

dasherHampton

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2018
2,543
488
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I guess I'm the one not being clear enough. I didn't want to "cheese" my way through the game, as you put it. I think that would get incredibly boring after a while. My plan was to become a powerful archer who could survive by getting really good with the bow. You know - jumping into melee and headshotting enemies in the midst of battle.

Gothic 3 is a great example of archery as a viable career path. While not a perfect game the archery system in G3 is really, really good. The basic act of drawing a bow and shooting at enemies feels great, and with practice you can learn to lead enemies or hit them from really far distances. The game allows you to power up an archer an insane amount if you want (direct headshots can take over half of a powerful enemy's health once you get up there), and you can learn the orcslayer archery skill which is almost a necessity later on. Plus - there are very powerful bows to be discovered throughout the game, along with many types of arrows you can find or eventually create yourself.

In short - if you want to go with archery there's nothing stopping you from completing the game that way, without any cheesing (except for hopping on rocks, which is a basic tactic in pretty much every RPG).
 
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Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
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My plan was to become a powerful archer who could survive by getting really good with the bow. You know - jumping into melee and headshotting enemies in the midst of battle.
Unfortunately, that's not how Oblivion's mechanics work. Unless you're using a mod to remove the level scaling, you'll never reach a point where it would be viable to jump into combat and pump people full of arrows to win. Also, it's been a while so forgive me if this is incorrect, but if I remember correctly, the only locational damage in Oblivion is if you hit an enemy in the head during stealth.

Now, if you plan on using mods to remove the level scaling (there's plenty out there), then you could probably do exactly what you're talking about. There's many ways to play Oblivion if you mod the restrictions away. If you don't mod them away, you're pretty much forced to either play a stealth archer or a two-handed warrior. There's a few other viable means to play in vanilla, but you'll have a pretty rough time at parts (Daedric Princes come to mind).
 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
6,720
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Just completed my first ever play through of Crysis, which is just what the doctor ordered after a game like Mirror's Edge.

Absolutely stunning game visually, with solid core mechanics, mediocre AI, forgettable characters, and a fairly ho-hum story that manages to pick up the pace and snowball in the 3rd act.

The gameplay could have stood a bit more balancing: I found myself using **MAXIMUM STEALTH** for almost every encounter with speed really only useful when you just want to run past enemies to get to an objective and strength for when the game requires you jump over something tall or punch a door to keep moving.

The dumb as a post AI didn't help the situation much, allowing me to do hit and run kills in plain sight as the enemies would imediately lose track of me when I cloaked.

Some of the vehicle levels were a bit frustrating as well. If you didn't know what you were doing early in the level, you find yourself 5 minutes in with a Tank that's taken 95% damage with just a brutal slog if you choose to abandon the vehicle and go the distance on foot.

The level design was really on point, however, especially in the earlier sandboxy levels. The level design definitely allowed multiple approaches to an objective while still channelling the player along a defined route. Only one small instance in the game where I got turned around and wasn't sure where to go. I appreciated the more "on rails" approach the later levels took to ratchet up the tension.

Overall I was fairly impressed. Crysis was such a rallying cry for PC Master Race graphics that it's easy to forget that there is actually a remarkably decent game underneath all the "Can it run Crysis" hooplah.

I already own the 3rd Crysis thanks to a voucher I received, so i'm curious if the second and third installments hold up to the first (I also have Warhead, which I will definitely fire up after a break with something else).

Feel like I could use a nice snack of a game next. Definitely not a first person game. Maybe I'll give Shadowrun Returns a shot...
 

Stg-Flame

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2007
3,494
470
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But with Speed and Strength you could launch enemies off into the distance. Just a pain in the ass to switch to Strength right before the impact.

Edit: I wouldn't honestly bother with Crysis 3. Warhead is equally as fun but the installments after EA got their claws into the franchise are just garbage. With Crysis 2, you get even further dumbed-down AI and giant neon blinking signs and arrows telling you where everything is and what to do. The handholding is ridiculous.
 
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looper

Golden Member
Oct 22, 1999
1,655
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Currently, just Battlefield 1 (haven't cared for the alpha/beta of Battlefield 5) and Desktop Tower Defense. Picked up an older game, Supreme Commander 2, as I used to like Total Annihilation. And I may go back to Age of Empires 2/3.
 

dasherHampton

Platinum Member
Jan 19, 2018
2,543
488
96
Crysis definitely bring back memories.

Unfortunately for most of us they're about installing the game, not being able to resist throwing every setting up to max, and watching the 1 fps slideshow of the plane crossing the screen during the opening cinematic while having the obsoleteness of our GPUs confirmed. lol

I think my PC had a 7600 GT when I first got the game. I couldn't really play it with any decent settings at all until bought an 8800 Ultra.
 

cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
23,049
12,720
136
The new Tomb Raider ... and I am about getting ready to uninstall it... I am afraid... afraid its retarded...
 

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
3,979
839
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Bummer... the series was doing pretty well too.

Wrapped up Dishonored: DotO last night and almost done Wolfenstein II. Enjoyed both very much.
 
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NoSoupforyou

Member
Dec 20, 2016
55
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51
working on backlog of games. Finally finished FarCry4 and Wolfenstein the new order. Now working thru the Deus Ex games. Human Revolution now. Mankind Divided later on. But i think next would me Mass Effect 2.

Not sure you can finish it but still have much to do in Fallout 4. Still have parts of Far Harbour to finish and to start Nuka World.
 
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OCNewbie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2000
7,603
24
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Trying to get myself to start Divinity: Original Sin (first one). I played it briefly before (pirated it years ago, to be honest), but I just bought it on sale (the Enhanced Edition) and want to actually dive in and get the full experience. It's still on sale, btw, for $9.99 if anybody else is interested:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/373420/Divinity_Original_Sin__Enhanced_Edition/

Edit: Now 20+ hours into a playthrough. I think I got further into the game the first time I played than I realized. I remember lots of things that I'm encountering now, but it's still new enough to be interesting 4+ years later.
 
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zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
110,515
29,102
146
The new Tomb Raider ... and I am about getting ready to uninstall it... I am afraid... afraid its retarded...

what does this mean? I still haven't played the 2nd one, but thought the first one was damn solid.
 

cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
23,049
12,720
136
what does this mean? I still haven't played the 2nd one, but thought the first one was damn solid.
Temporary annoyances.. The game is damn beautiful, but it has these action sequences of up to 20 actions and you must be spot on for each of them.. and then still you will miss while not knowing why, then on your 10th take and you aaaalmost have it, on the last step, some error will make the camera point the wrong way for 3 seconds and you are dead again. That $ gets under my skin...
 

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
3,979
839
136
...Now working thru the Deus Ex games. Human Revolution now. Mankind Divided later on. But i think next would me Mass Effect 2.

Not sure you can finish it but still have much to do in Fallout 4. Still have parts of Far Harbour to finish and to start Nuka World.

I'll probably never finish Fallout 4, especially with 76 around the corner. I thought Far Harbor was an excellent DLC though and I wish I could find a little time to explore the whole thing.

Also, you'll enjoy Mankind Divided if you like Human Revolution as it's mostly more of the same. There's some new stuff thrown in and the visuals are a little nicer but honestly I thought it was great; played through twice.

Have a wedding this weekend so no gaming for the next few days... sigh, adulthood.
 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
6,720
7,018
136
Human Revolution was a ton of fun, a really solid FPS/RPG sneak shooter.

I sincerely hope the impending sales success of Cyberpunk 2077 gets Squenix/Eidos to put together another excellent entry into the franchise.

I have MKD in my library, but haven't had a chance to try it out. I've heard it eats hardware alive for marginal improvements in visual fidelity and that the main storyline is pretty lackluster. Side Quests are said to be pure gold though.
 

paperfist

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2000
6,517
280
126
www.the-teh.com
working on backlog of games. Finally finished FarCry4 and Wolfenstein the new order. Now working thru the Deus Ex games. Human Revolution now. Mankind Divided later on. But i think next would me Mass Effect 2.

Not sure you can finish it but still have much to do in Fallout 4. Still have parts of Far Harbour to finish and to start Nuka World.

Ah finishing games, those were the days :)

Did you ever play the original Deus Ex game? Just wondered how the new compared to the old?
 

Rhezuss

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2006
4,120
34
91
Been playing too much stuff lately...

PC: Slay the Spire, Hearthstone, MTG Arena...
PS4: Inquisitor: Martyr, Pillars of Eternity, Dark Souls 3, Dark Souls Remastered...
Switch: Octopath Traveler (this game is awesome btw), Dead Cells, Zelda.

When I was younger i'd be at achool dreaming of playing games all day...now i'm at work and i'm having the same dream...
 

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
3,979
839
136
Did you ever play the original Deus Ex game? Just wondered how the new compared to the old?

I know it's not my quote but since I've played through and completed the original along with the two new ones I'll just provide my .02 if that's alright. The new ones certainly play like the classic in terms of mechanics and RPG-infused "pick your path" style combat vs stealth. They are obviously nicer to look at but the AI is a bit robotic in certain regards and I think the game is too easy to stealth through but you can play any way you like.

Both HR and MD get my recommendation for environment/story alone but I don't think that there are any more games in the pipeline right now. I'm really looking forward to Cyberpunk though.
 
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paperfist

Diamond Member
Nov 30, 2000
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www.the-teh.com
I know it's not my quote but since I've played through and completed the original along with the two new ones I'll just provide my .02 if that's alright. The new ones certainly play like the classic in terms of mechanics and RPG-infused "pick your path" style combat vs stealth. They are obviously nicer to look at but the AI is a bit robotic in certain regards and I think the game is too easy to stealth through but you can play any way you like.

Both HR and MD get my recommendation for environment/story alone but I don't think that there are any more games in the pipeline right now. I'm really looking forward to Cyberpunk though.

Thanks!

I enjoyed the original and haven’t played a game like that in a while. So was curious to see how similar it was. I figured the graphics were a few steps better :)
 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
6,720
7,018
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Completed Bastion yesterday. What a god damn work of art. Just, god damn.

The literal artistry that went into making this game, from the visuals to the music and sound, the narration everything was just a feast for the senses.

For such a beautiful game the plot was remarkably unpretentious and sincere, and the gameplay was accessible but well assembled with depth if you wanted to dig in without really requiring you to.

The whole thing came together in a way that took me back to that feeling as a kid when I was playing through Chrono Trigger or FF3/6 just that sense of awe in being transported to a surreal world where everything is different but still makes sense somehow.

I know supergiant games made Transistor and Pyre as well (I have Transistor and will definitely be playing that in the future) but I really hope they sit down and make a solid Secret of Mana-esq RPG one day. They got the chops comming out of the wazoo.

Otherwise I've gotten roughly half-way through SW: The Force Unleashed. Like quicksand, it's a game that looks like a good idea from the outside and a bad idea when you're in the middle of it, but now the only choice I have is to push through to the other end for the story.
 

ibex333

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2005
4,086
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Just completed my first ever play through of Crysis, which is just what the doctor ordered after a game like Mirror's Edge.

Absolutely stunning game visually, with solid core mechanics, mediocre AI, forgettable characters, and a fairly ho-hum story that manages to pick up the pace and snowball in the 3rd act.

My thoughts exactly. Crysis is ALL flash, NO SUBSTANCE.

Completely overrated game IMO. A mediocre game actually, but instead of refusing to accept mediocrity, everyone seems to have voted with their wallets for Crytek to continue releasing more of this garbage. Hey, I am not denying the graphics are amazing. They are! Well that, and the shooting/suit powers are fun for the 1st hour or so. But what else is there? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
 

GodisanAtheist

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2006
6,720
7,018
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Just completed Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Games like this are the reason I love gaming on the PC. Don't get me wrong, its a mediocre console port of a mediocre game and nothing about gaming on the PC really changed that. But the option to ditch my keyboard and mouse and switch over to an Xbox 360 controller really made the difference between giving up on the game (KB+M was virtually unplayable thanks to some of the core mechanics of the game) and playing it through to completion.

And I'm glad I did. While merely moderate for a platformer (I much prefer the Shadows of Mordor/Batmark Arkham Asylum style combat mechanics) the game has a reasonably engaging story, and I was honestly surprised how willing LucasArts was to completely diverge from established cannon with your final choice in the game (Its an old game so I'll just say it: You can either rescue the rebellion from Palpatine or KILL DARTH VADER to become Palpatine's new apprentice).

All told, however, it never got old tossing around storm troopers like ragdolls. The physics engine was solid and really made the combat in a big way (grab a storm trooper and throw him into a crowd of storm troopers; grab a crate or box or debris and hurl it into some chump for maximum damage) and made the game stand out a bit.

Least favorite lore element was the absurd levels of power creep that was not even internally consistent within the story itself. Starkiller can use the force to *pull a star destroyer out of orbit and have it smash into an imperial spaceyard* but cannot pick up a purge trooper because, you know, they're too heavy or something. Gameplay wise, the game did have a number of very frustrating deaths as a result of stunlocks when getting hit or getting turned around and not really knowing where to go thanks to the abysmal minimap and vague mission objectives.

Not sure what I'm going to play next. Might take a break for a bit to clear my head, then get back in with something really old school that I missed like Return to Castle Wolfenstein (in honor of the kickass new Wolf games) or something else. Sort of feeling in the mood for a high fantasy kick, but I might go back and give Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall another go now that I have some idea of how to build a character at the start of the game.