Twinblade

just bought it. Ya'll got any tips for newbies?

FINALLY after 60 or so hours I finished FFXVI

Im just gonna summarize my main thoughts and get them over with as I feel like I already invested way too much time into this game

- The gameplay is ultimately the weakest part of the the game. The combat is flashy but pretty shallow for the majority of it. It gets better later on as you unlock more skills and can experiment with different combos including juggling enemies in mid air (which is satisfying admittedly) but its still not enough considering just how much combat there is. Many of the dungeons end up feeling like a slog as you just go down a corridor from point A to B and fight the same few waves of the same few enemy types, some of who have a ludicrous amount of HP which results in you button mashing your way through. There is basically no variety and because of the lack of rewards/progressions, it feels like you're just going through the motions. There are sizeable environments but there's no reward to exploring them besides finding the same few generic crafting materials that you won't even need to use as there are so many of them, and there's practically nothing to craft. Useful loot is non existent as well, the most abundant items are the accessories but they just have worthless passive effects like finding 5% more gold, dealing 10% more damage, a specific skill having less of a cooldown, etc.

- When it comes to towns, thats another aspect I found underwhelming. There's many of them scattered around and they do look good and you can listen to NPC chatter which fleshes out the world and lore, but there's just nothing to see or do in those areas besides a few bland quests here and there (some of the late game quests are decent though). There's also no sprawling cities which feels like a sin nowadays given how many RPGs strive to include large, living cities in them with many vendors, NPCs going about their daily lives, mini games, etc. The fact that SO6 has larger cities is a bit baffling. 

- Graphics can be pretty amazing especially during some of the cutscenes and bigger set piece moments. They're complemented by the music which is also pretty fantastic. However, the moment to moment gameplay can look underwhelming because of the color grading/gray tint the game has. Most of the colors are muted which doesn't do the technical aspects justice. Even bright sunny places like the desert manage to look overly dark.

- Story and characters are the strongest aspects I feel. There are many genuinely emotional moments and the writing is pretty solid and backed up by great voice acting from most of the cast members. I do feel like there were some characters that didn't get as much screen time as they should have had. Also, the story does go in a bit of a disappointing direction. Without spoiling anything, it basically abandons a lot of the geo politics and Game of Thrones aspects later on and basically just becomes another 'save the world' type of story that is all too familiar for this genre.

so yeah even though its got plenty of wow worthy moments I think as a whole it could have been quite a bit better. I give it a 7/10.

24 minutes ago, Ramza said:

They make a new game every year or something. 

 
you’re confused. Daymare 1998 was their last game and it came out nearly 4 years ago. It wasn’t popular but It got some buzz because they managed to get one of Capcom’s main RE producers to produce/oversee the project.

I don’t think people should underestimate Nintendo. Switch pre-dated a lot of these windows gaming handhelds we see today so for its time it did a lot in terms of processing power, battery life, noise, weight, ergonomics, etc.

This looks nuts  interesting how the Hostess stuff is just complete FMV now.

I found the demo of this to be pretty underwhelming compared to 1998. Hopefully the full game is better...

Hacked switches can run the game at 60FPS

WTF rockstar  

1 minute ago, Sabo said:

So is it traditional style or that new JRPG style?

This is the beat 'em up style because its a spin off. Only the main, numbered entries will be turn based.

21 minutes ago, -GD-X said:

Ever feel like there’s too much to play, that you just don’t want to play anything?  Especially with all of these long ass games coming out? 

yeah its de-motivating. I feel like this year in particular has had soooooooooooo many long games, its ridiculous.

Trying to finish FFXVI so I can start Baldur's Gate 3....oh wait but I also want to play more of Jagged Alliance 3.....oh yeah and Starfield + Lies of P come out next month....

fuck me  

23 minutes ago, Ramza said:

That's what I got out of quick Google search this morning when I was doubting the spelling. I swear I'm totally unaware of these things. I guess Google is a Russian apologist too. lol

 

I just explained to you we don't act on kindness.

 

I'm not apologizing for anything or anyone. I have no issue pointing out shit on either sides because neither are my side.

 
So if someone happens to break into your house and mercilessly rapes and beats you and your family we should ignore the whole situation and just take a ‘not my problem’ approach to it. Ok then….

Just now, Ramza said:

We don't act on geo politics out of kindness to fix the world's injustices. What, do you want to invade China to save the Uyghurs people next? Of course not. Why should we save Ukrainians though?

 

I gives zero fucks who sits in Kiev because it's irrelevant to my country well being. That's not mental gymnastics, it's a fact. 

 

Putin being bad and starting this invasion is absolutely irrelevant. It's not justification for our involvement. Your world view is childish black and white fantasies. I live in reality, where Ukraine is getting raped and destroyed and we're losing money to simply hurt Russia and prolong the conflict. There are no other goals.

 
The fact that you deliberately spelt Kyiv as Kiev says it at all. You’re just another Russia apologist who can see the horrible crimes committed by them with your own 2 eyes and still find ways to blame the other side.

Quote

The Good
Combat is improved across the board with more options and variety
Platforming is challenging but fair and skillfully incorporates each weapon
Unique art style delves further into Andalusian and Spanish culture

The Bad
Backtracking is too frequent and tedious
Unskippable cutscenes before most boss fights are a nuisance

Blasphemous 2 Review - Unholy Pilgrimage - GameSpot

Never played the first one.

19 minutes ago, Ramza said:

I'm pro Canadian. Who sits in Kyiv parliament is 100% irrelevant to me or any of us. We aren't in dire need of Ukrainian grains (one of Canada's biggest EXPORT) or oil.

 

I don't see how it benefits us in any way and their loss is guaranteed, we're only slowing down the inevitable, as I've been saying since the start and nothing indicates that is going to change.

Nothing at all, not your wishful thinking that Ukraine has the resources to support themselves when they can't even pay their own Government officials without NATO aid funds. They're beyond fucked and NATO nations will slowly reduce their aid, up until the country falls. 

 

I'm just gonna let it at this. The future will show I was right. 

 
No, you’re just another one of the Kremlin’s useful idiots who fell prey to Russian propaganda that continues to try to shift the blame to the west and Ukraine for this war even though from the beginning all Ukraine was doing was defending itself against Russia’s barbaric, illegal invasion. It’s that simple no matter how much mental gymnastics you want to play.

1 hour ago, Ramza said:

Going by internet arm chairs experts scouring the net for footage tallying up losses like that's a super accurate representation. Please. 

 

The Ukrainian counter offensive is massive failure, the fact Ukrainians have never even reached the main defensive Russians lines is enough on it's own to prove that. They didn't recapture anything of importance or any massive stretch of the frontline. They even loss grounds in some areas. 

 

Ukraine cannot sustain these NATO equipment losses and most reserves have probably already been deployed and are stretched thin. Let alone the mounting manpower losses. 

 

Ukraine has very limited air support and it's never going to get any better until that is fixed. Russians have artillery superiority and that has been one of the most crucial aspect of this war so far. Russians have numbers superiority. Russians have vehicles numbers superiority. 

 

There isn't one credible scenario where Ukraine can make a come back. This isn't a movie. For them to win Russians would need to mess up very badly in the field and they clearly learned a lot from this war and we're going to see is more powerful Russia emerged afterward. I would much rather fight the stupid tanks convoys at the beginning of the war than the well oiled war machines of very efficient artillery, counter offensives and drones.

 

As I've said a long time ago, they should have settled for a peace agreement while they appeared like the had the upper hand. It's never going to get as good as it was for Ukraine position on the world stage. This was massive waste of money, lives and only help creating a more divided world than ever before. 

 

All this because Americans masturbate at the thought of hurting Russia in any way and saving the 'sovereignty' of a corrupted shit hole ex Soviet country. Absolute joke. All other Ukrainians cheerleaders have been proven wrong and will continue to being proven wrong. Thanks for nothing, morons. 

 

 

Well, at least you're finally admitting to be a pro-Russia clown  

While the counter offensive has been underwhelming, Ukraine still has a lot of resources. But regardless of its success, there is no alternative where Russia 'wins' the war. Ukraine retained its freedom and most of its sovereign territory even if ~17-20% of it ends up being occupied by Russia. Russia still failed at its main goal of taking over the entire country and exposed itself of being a weak, corrupt shithole.

2 minutes ago, Ramza said:

Bought a Chinese handheld a few months ago that played tons of retro games on emulators... It was cool but it made realize I cannot tolerate such small screens anymore. 

Yeah I have a pair of glasses I use for when im in front of a computer for a long time (like at work) and I pretty much have to use them any time I play my Ally or ill struggle.

2 minutes ago, Ramza said:

Yeah, I need a good setup with two monitors for accounting purposes anyway. 

 

Really like laptops for their ease of use though, you can setup your gaming anywhere which I find really practical. 

I think gaming handhelds are starting to fill the same space that laptops used to occupy. I think those are a better alternative to them.

Or combining the Ally with one of the external GPUs they sell. I think thats a good combo.

14 minutes ago, Ramza said:

My GPU died on me. The wattage is fucked up and drops to zero, as if the battery was dead. 

 

My hermit friend said I should get my laptop cleaned out.

Forget about gaming laptops, just get a desktop. Better use of money and will be more reliable.

Thx hermits for the beta test. I think the complete & polished PS5 version is gonna be the way to go.

Nerdmits have been destroyed. Another job well done by yours truly 

6 minutes ago, Remij said:

 

Twinky got 187'd, god damn!  

You hermshits spend thousands on computer components to play shit like Dave the Diver while ignoring actual technical achievements like Ratchet and Clank  

I watched both videos and I feel like I wasted my time. Most of the issues are minor shit that won't make a difference for most of LMG's viewers. I don't watch most of their videos but the few I do watch I do are purely just for entertainment purposes.

https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/shadow-gambit-the-cursed-crew-review-spectacul-arrrr/1900-6418103/

Quote

The Good
Stealth puzzles that require satisfying, meticulous planning
Well-differentiated power sets truly let you make the crew your own
Inventive setting and enjoyably spooky character designs
Sharp, funny writing with stakes that propel the narrative forward

The Bad
You need to commit to reviving a crew member before trying out their skills

Never heard of this but it sounds cool.

hermits starting beefs with one another to distract from the fact that they have no games 

I just watched the first 2 episodes. What the fuck is this show  im totally into it tho.

This is unfortunate. Apparently the system has been getting a decent amount of good games recently but nobody knows about them because Sony isn't bothering showcasing them in any format. This really does a disservice to the developers and is only going to cause a decrease in support going forward.