Detroit: Become Human

I've been saying for a while that the storytelling in games rivals almost anything being done in TV or film.

I didn't think this one would get its hooks in to me. It starts with fairly simple mundane stories of mechanical people and ends up being this gripping civil rights tale that really had me questioning my core beliefs.

It has been an absolute pleasure to play the three Quantic Dreams produced games over the past year on PC. Detroit, Beyond: Two Souls, and Heavy Rain are all magnificent narrative experiences that push the boundaries of interactive writing. They certainly aren't for everybody, but if they resonate with you they really are something special.

David Cage, the writer/game director/founder at Quantic Dreams is someone on my short-list of people who I think are so bright that I will consume anything he produces in any genre.

Very cool.

There are a lot of tough choices in that game. And some bad ways to end. Glad you got to play.

It is gaming at a different level.

 

Anyone playing No Man's Sky here?

https://www.nomanssky.com/living-ship-update/

 

I know in the age of digital delivery we aren't supposed to be pre-ordering things anymore, but this is the easiest pre-order I've ever made.

Edited March 11, 20206 yr by TMoney

I started reading the Ars Technica review of Half-Life: Alyx when I realized... "I'm too old for this shit."  🤠

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/03/half-life-alyx-review-the-greatest-vr-adventure-game-yet-and-then-some/

Wake me up when we have real-life virtual murder parks like Westworld.

 

Edited March 24, 20206 yr by HiWire

About five more months until Cyberpunk 2077

Damn, dude.  Humble has Alien: Isolation for $2(!) https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/alien-day-sale/

If you want the DLC, it's actually cheaper to buy it on GameBillet: https://www.gamebillet.com/search?q=ALIEN+%3A+ISOLATION

The cost of the base game on HIB and the DLC on GB combined is cheaper than any package deal.

That game was terrifyingly fun. 

Beating it without dying once (for the achievement) is sure to take some years off your life.

Dusk is pretty great. I don't know why I never played through it when it came out, but I finally played it now.

It starts off a bit like a Quake clone - a very slick and polished Quake clone but a clone nevertheless - but it doesn't stay that way. The feel of the game really changes as you get further into it, and it feels more inspired by the atmosphere of immersive sims like Thief and System Shock, and occasionally horror games like Amnesia. The level design has clearly learned some tricks from Half Life and Portal, and plays with verticality and sense of scale quite a lot. Above it all, the game feels almost like an exercise in narration that uses old-school FPS mechanics but is much more about what it makes you feel. Considering that the developer has a history of making atmospheric horror games, I'm not surprised.

Don't let the low-fi primitive graphics fool you, there is nothing primitive about this game.

Oh, and of course it has a movement system. Simplified, not quite full-on Quakeworld/CPM but at least it's there.

Highly recommended.

14 minutes ago, catscratch said:

atmosphere of immersive sims like Thief and System Shock

Oh no, now I'm aroused.

As well you should be.

There's a bit of a retro indie shooter kick going on right now. Dusk, Amid Evil, Ion Fury, Wrath: Aeon of Ruin, probably a few more than I can't remember, all getting a decent amount of attention. I guess the success of Doom and Doom Eternal gave people hope that the old school shooter isn't completely dead. I hope Diabotical does the same thing for multiplayer, but not holding my breath for that one... Quake Champs failed, though that had more to do with it being a mess of a game rather than the genre being dead imo. But, you know... Bethesda. Sigh.

On the note of Bethesda and Doom, I was having a pretty good time in the original Doom, playing on Nightmare. But a few days after I came back to it, I noticed that the game had reverted my save to the easiest difficulty for some reason and there was no way to set it back. It also marked my game as being in devmode and disabled achievements. Ok, I said, cool, let me reinstall the game and see what happens - same thing. Apparently there's some sort of anticheat for people who enable certain variables in console, and the game occasionally glitches out and thinks you're doing that when you're not. And they never bothered fixing it even though it was known about for 4 years.

Fine, so be it Bethesda. I would have liked giving you 60 dollars for Doom Eternal, but, you know... I'll pass.

Hi. I have a very, very, very annoying teen gamer who is JUST SO INCREDIBLY FUCKING LOUD on his headset. It's driving everyone else in the house crazy. My sense is he's not hearing his own outgoing hooting and screeching over the game sounds -- how do I boost his voice level in the headphones so he gets better volume feedback and I don't have to FUCKING KILL HIM? Please.

Edited May 7, 20206 yr by Hopstretch

18 minutes ago, Hopstretch said:

Hi. I have a very, very, very annoying teen gamer who is JUST SO INCREDIBLY FUCKING LOUD on his headset. It's driving everyone else in the house crazy. My sense is he's not hearing his own outgoing hooting and screeching over the game sounds -- how do I boost his voice level in the headphones so he gets better volume feedback and I don't have to FUCKING KILL HIM? Please.

PC or console?

PC.

 

If it's a non-usb headset you'll wanna look for something like this to adjust the microphone playback volume in whatever software pops up when the headset gets plugged in, make sure it's unmuted and turned up. USB headsets are kinda case by case I think... I've never used one.

Banish to pool house?

I've lived through this particular hell, and homicide is never far from one's thoughts.

Everybody else in the same game lobby as them also has homicide on their mind, though at least they have the luxury of a mute button.

Was in a discussion with a few others today on gameplay between Odyssey 2, Atari (eventually called 2600), and Intellivision, and came across a promotional vid for Odyssey [1]. Man, things were exciting in '72. 

 

Stretch,

This is Head-Case.

Soundproof his room.

You're welcome,

Another dad with a gamer next door

This has been perfect for life in quarantine.

Few games scratch the "parts of the machine" itch better than this one. None of the three roles (damage dealers, healers, tanks) can do it by themselves, but all need to work together in harmony to accomplish the group goals. It feels so good when everyone plays well and overcomes hard challenges as a team.

If any HC'ers play and want to add me, let me know!

10 minutes ago, TMoney said:

This has been perfect for life in quarantine.

Few games scratch the "parts of the machine" itch better than this one. None of the three roles (damage dealers, healers, tanks) can do it by themselves, but all need to work together in harmony to accomplish the group goals. It feels so good when everyone plays well and overcomes hard challenges as a team.

If any HC'ers play and want to add me, let me know!

I've never hated humanity as deeply as when I tried out healing in FFXIV. I'm convinced 98% of players have absolutely zero understanding of how tanking and healing works.

Edited May 16, 20206 yr by Fitz

My friend, as a healer-main I 100% know the feeling!

The nice thing is that as I've improved as a player and moved on to more difficult content the avoidable damage tends to one-shot or otherwise delete the DPS players so fast that they cannot have any expectation of being saved from their own stupid mistakes.

2 hours ago, TMoney said:

My friend, as a healer-main I 100% know the feeling!

The nice thing is that as I've improved as a player and moved on to more difficult content the avoidable damage tends to one-shot or otherwise delete the DPS players so fast that they cannot have any expectation of being saved from their own stupid mistakes.

I'm a DPS main but have been trying out tanking lately, and found it way easier than I expected. Much more relaxing for dungeon runs.