What Videogame(s) Are You Playing?

My favorites are The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Pokemon go!, Relax Gaming slot Ancient Tumble and The Aviator slot, that’s because I follow DiceGirl Egle, she helps a lot with slot games, I also like to play chess a lot lately, it’s not that popular but I like it a lot. Have a nice day! :wink:

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I finished Assassins Creed Syndicate. It was fun, in a typical ubisoft-cookie-cutter way, y’know? (it’s like gaming junk food!)
The stealth and combat were fun, the main assassination missions were cool, the banter between the siblings was decent, but gosh the tone was way too lighthearted/action-movie esque for the era, and a lot of the side stuff was just kinda ehhh basic missions. But, I enjoyed it enough to finish it… (I tried Unity, but only finished the first 2 sequences before I decided to quit. The parkour is gorgeous, the city is gorgeous, but the world is overwhelmingly littered with collectibles, the animation blending is still super janky, and the controls just felt sluggish.)
I’m gonna skip the RPG trilogy and just go straight to Mirage once I go back to the AC series again. I’ve heard it’s a decent throwback to classic mechanics/parkour focus.

It also has some light RPG mechanics, which was kinda weird. Gear of different levels/stats, a skill tree for each protag. (that are nearly identical) And the levels just makes enemies more damage-sponges if they’re higher level. Also, the levels only go up to 10. :person_shrugging:

I think I’ll try out LA Noire next. Something on my long bought backlog, I’m in the mood for mystery/detective stuff. Also interested in how Rockstar Games does it (I’m not familiar with their work honestly, believe it or not, I’ve never played GTAs)

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LA Noire is great, though I wonder how you will do with their famous interrogation sequences.

How is that even possible? Either way you should remedy that as soon as you are done with LA Noire.

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Sheltered gamer upbringing, general disinterest in its exaggerated mature themes over the years, something like that… :sweat_smile:

I ordered a physical PS5 copy of GTAV a week ago since it was on sale for 30$ (and it seems like that’s as low as they’ve been consistently dropping it for 2 years now) so hey, I’ll finally have the option to play it sometime in the future…
Fingers crossed on LA Noire. Also fingers crossed on the controls. I have played a little bit of the first RDR on PS3 a while ago, and man, that control scheme is weird…

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Well, the game was developed by Team Bondi, Rockstar was the publisher, so it´s not strictly speaking their stuff… (though they did basically have to take over development given the situation at TB afaik, but I´m not sure how direct their input was - @Accidental_Kills98 might be more informed on that as an Aussie).

But anyways, it´s an absolutely amazing game - hope you enjoy it!

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Can’t wait to do that one specific thing… :joy:

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That isn’t how it works, I don’t know everybody in my whole country.

But I actually do know that Team Bondi had a lot of problems developing the game and that David McNamara was a tyrant who crunched a lot of the developers. Rockstar had to handle a lot of behind the scenes stuff and later half of the games development simply because Team Bondi’s upper brass were useless.

So useless that any and all intentions of Rockstar making them a “Rockstar Sydney” vanished like will o’ wisps in the foggy moors.

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At midnight (your local time) last night, you could see a mini celebration in the Astro’s Playroom tech demo for the new Astro Bot game that comes out today!

It’s a really cute little thing, and it’s neat that Asobi decided to celebrate this release using the Playroom game. :smile:

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Astro Bot is definitely my Game of The Year! (sorry Suicide Squad)

I’ve heard some people say that it is giving them Mario Galaxy vibes and other people say it’ll be Playstation’s Mario 64. Even though the game has a space aesthetic where you travel to different galaxies, the Mario game Astro Bot reminds me the most of is Super Mario 3D World: a mostly linear 3D platformer where you go to reach the goal but there’s a few secrets and collectibles to find along the way. There’s also some tough platforming challenges in a void which reminded me of Mario Sunshine. Though this game is leagues more charming and fun than Mario 3D World imo.

Even though Astro’s Playroom was really great, this game definitely makes it feel like the tech demo it was. There’s just so much more here in Astro Bot: a ton of different level aesthetics, new powerups and items to utilize, and a ton of new enemy types (plus several of the common ones get reskins to match their aesthetics)! Just like Playroom, this game also utilizes the DualSense Haptic Feedback feature well, if only more PS5 games would! The game’s soundtrack has a ton of amazing new tracks, but they also reused/remixed several of the songs from Playroom. This didn’t bother me too much, but it was weird that in a space themed level they kept in the “SSD” vocals.

I love the collectible bots you find which are themed to various franchises! I can confirm that the game does feature Dante from the Devil May Cry series! Some of the bots are famous, some more obscure, and some were real surprises. I did not expect there to be a Crash Bandicoot bot since Microsoft owns Crash now. My favorite is the Claire Redfield one, who’s trying to open the heart door but doesn’t realize the heart key’s on the ground.

Some of the best levels are the bonus ones you get at the end of each world which are each themed around a Playstation Franchise: Ape Escape, God of War, Uncharted (my favorite level in the game, and sadly probably the biggest Uncharted-related thing we’ll get this console generation), LocoRoco (which I have never heard of before but now want to check out - the advertising worked!), and Horizon (which reminds me that I should really get around to playing Zero Dawn sometime) I do wish there were more than just 5, however.

Another huge highlight in the game are the boss encounters. Playroom just had the one boss at the end, but this game has 6 massive bosses and several more in the levels themselves (16 bosses total if I counted right?). They have a ton of personality and some very intense attack patterns. My favorite is Wako Tako the octopus (pictured below). One thing though is I wish there were more rematches against the bosses where you take on a harder form. They only did that for one boss.

The only big criticism I have with the game is the difficulty curve. The main levels with a ton of stuff to find were all pretty easy, and even the boss fights while fun did not give me too much trouble (maybe I’m just such a Pro Gamer). And with the secret challenge levels where you need to do a whole challenge with one life, they were either super easy or super tough, there wasn’t much middle ground. I thought the super secret final challenge was also easier than many of the earlier challenges too, a The Perfect Run it was not.

All in all the game is excellent and made me feel pure joy at several places (especially the section leading up to the final boss fight). If you have a PS5, get it! It was a plenty big game, but now I want even more! I do think we could see a few DLC worlds get made, if they took the time to add new stuff to Astro’s Playroom they can add to this game too! If not, then I look forward to Astro Bot 2!

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Astro’s Playroom was surprisingly good for what it was and this one looks like a big improvement and lots of fun based on this. I do enjoy a good “retro” 3D platformer. Though I don’t have a PS5 anymore so hopefully it comes to PC in a couple years. Sony have been pretty good with that lately (except for Bloodborne which I’m still waiting for).

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Well, I’ve done it. I’ve completed Assassin’s Creed Origins. And my final verdict is… it was alright. As stated before, the story, voice work, and scenery are absolutely top notch and are among the best the series has ever done.

The additions to the lore are kinda so-so, if only because it leans more heavily into the supernatural/sci-fi aspects of the series than previous entries, and I know it only increases from here. While I don’t have a problem with that, and the fact that it happens in these entries that take place further into the past than all the others is why it fits, but it’s a pretty sudden shift that I think could have had a more subtle transition.

And then, the combat and overall gameplay, not gonna lie, kinda sucked. Of course, I’ve said before how much I hate the combat systems they’ve used since the end of the Ezio games, but this one really dropped down from even that, and was not a good decision.

From all the hype of people who’ve played this game, I expected something more, and while I’m not disappointed overall, it’s not as great as people have said it is, certainly not to the point that it should be considered the turning point that pulled the series out of the slums, but that is in fact what it did, so take that for what it’s worth.

I will say, my favorite thing about the game is something very innocuous, really just an addition to the scenery when you get down to it: There’s a part of the map of Egypt, the southernmost part, past the mountains, that is nothing but open desert. And I mean nothing; there are no animals, no trees, no settlements or human activity, just open desert full of dunes and sandstorms that takes several minutes in real time to reach, let alone ride a camel or horse across. And out here in this area, just in the middle of empty desert, far from any of the game’s action, is a temple just barely jutting out of the middle of the dunes. Those who’ve played the AC games will of course be familiar with Those Who Came Before and what that represents, but I don’t want to spoil too much for anyone who hasn’t played these games and may become interested. But those who are familiar, you know what that’s about and what a temple of that type sticking out of the sand means. And there’s just something so eerie to me about this thing, two thousand years ago game-time, built much further back than that (or anything ever built), just out there buried under that sand all that time, and then when you’re exploring the map and riding through that empty desert, you just come across it. Nobody even knows it’s out there, and presumably never finds out over the next two thousand years; it probably gets covered with sand again. But the player character can find it, interact with it, and it helps complete the story when you do. But, it just sends a chill down my spine seeing it and thinking about it, like something Lovecraftian; a reminder of a forgotten past that emphasizes how young, fleeting, and insignificant humanity is. This spot and the feeling it evokes is my favorite thing about this game.

And so now, the moment has finally come. Almost six years to the day - and I say almost only because I don’t remember the actual day - I finally get to play the one that started me on this whole journey: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. In the words of Elmer Fudd, at eva wonging wast, I’ve made it here. And since Origins is overwhelmingly considered the favorite of the RPG trilogy in the series, yet I was mostly just entertained rather than blown away, and Odyssey is overall considered the least favorite of the trilogy, but is the one I’ve looked forward to most, I’m making a guess here at the beginning that I’ll like it more than the rest of the fanbase. Onward!

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Studios making games on PS5: Barely uses the Dualsense Haptic Rumble for anything interesting.

Sony: Gets their own in-house studio to make a game ENTIRELY about the rumble feature as a key mechanic … also just to have fun with it.

Yeah, do all the random piles of physics objects scattered around Astro Bot serve no meaningful purpose other than to make silly sounds and funny feelings on the controller? Yeah, sure.
But I LIKE those silly sounds and funny feelings so wheeeeeeee [spins around and throws bits and blocks and gumballs and leaves across the screen]

Also this game is PURE CUTENESS. All these robots talk with little bloops and squeaks, it’s adorable. Not to mention the great animation work with the eyes and movements.



Also WHY did they use their normal CGI PS Studios Tag-with-game-footage when you boot the game, and not this perfect themed rendition?? It’s a CRIME I tell you, an ADORABLE CRIME! :pleading_face: :broken_heart:

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Someone who’s not me telling you why Tactical Breach Wizards is absolutely fucking amazing in a video essay about Novelty in video games:

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So… I’m about 2 major cases into LA Noire now, and I can probably tell my impressions on the game now…

It’s harder than I expected, at least once I’ve finished the tutorial cases!

The game starts out with about 4 short one-scene cases just to get you used to the different kinds of activities you’ll be doing in the game. One involves learning about finding evidence, using that to link to a suspect’s address, then apprehending them once suspicion has been cast. Another is a simple shootout, and a different one shows off a chase-scene that ends in combat (a major staple of the “small street crimes” side activities that randomly pop up in the open-world.

The final tutorial one involves interrogation and questioning based on evidence/a crime scene.
It was fairly straight-forward to me, using Good Cop when you believe they’ve told the truth, Bad Cop to force them out of a lie you can’t disprove yet, and Accuse when they’ve told a lie, beyond a shadow of a doubt, you can definitively prove as false with evidence.

The case was pretty easy, open-and-shut.
Then came the promotion and the real cases started.
The first one tripped me up once, and I admit I reloaded the save to get perfect deductions during a suspect questioning. I thought I started to get the hang of it, and got 5 stars, a perfect solve on the case with no stone unturned.

Case 2 threw me for a loop a bit. (The Consul’s Car)
First of all, apparently there’s certain scenes you can miss if you don’t do them in the proper order.
I followed the Main Suspect’s path, tracing a suspicious wrench to his workplace and then his house, where I finally caught up with him in a street race. But I missed being able to talk with the Victim at the police station – I thought that would be left for last, to blow open the case and find out what exactly happened or what they may have done to get his car vandalized.
But nope. After I caught the main suspect, the Chief shows up, says “hey, you did a pretty good job all things considered” and I got 4-stars.

Also, I got a few questions/answers wrong during an interrogation, but it’s good to know that you can still get to a satisfying ending and apprehend the criminal even if you haven’t gotten every clue right.
I just have to pay better attention and really think about what evidence I have and whether I can prove or assume what people say is a lie, a proven lie, or a proven/plausible truth.

The facial mo-cap in this game is pretty damn impressive, yeah. Great tech behind it.
Though I don’t know if it’s the PS4 Remaster upscaling or the game’s art direction, but something seems a little off about people’s faces every now and then, usually how shadows are cast on them. Makes them look a little cel-shaded at times, and like a deep-fake edit at worst. :grimacing:

I guess the tech wasn’t perfect at the time, but it’s still certainly unique. (And it’s fun to study people’s [exaggerated] reactions to statements when you’re interviewing them.
If they’re stoic, unblinking, staring you right in the eyes, then it’s a truth. If they’re squirming a little, they’ve probably told a little lie. If they’re really smug about something, then maybe they’ve told a massive lie that I can disprove. The latter two blends together a bit sometimes, but I’ll get the hang of it hopefully.

Also yeah, I should use more of the Hint Points if I need it. Some of the questions had me stumped and at least removing one answer helped a little.

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A good trick to do when you need to go between a lie or doubt is to accuse them of lying and then listen to Cole’s accusation and the response from the accused. Back out if you can’t prove a link to the statements and then doubt. Saves you from save scumming and it can save those intuition points for things like removing dud evidence for a lie.

I wonder if you will crack and go to a guide, I know I do whenever I swear I will go guide free.

The two DLC cases in traffic will do that because they are the longest and most involved cases of the desk until you get to the last base case which was the base games “wake up call” moment.

Not just a “certain scene”, the best scene in the game! A Slip of the Tongue is also like that, in fact the DLC cases are a lot like that since they loved branching paths so much. You get a trophy for skipping virtually half of “Reefer Madness” in a certain way

“Victim” might be a charitable word for the consul.

Ironically he also has one of the best “bad ending” cutscenes in the game if you fuck up the other DLC case for his desk.

Be careful, the later cases especially Murder will punish you for not pick up on leads or making “wrong” choices with suspects.

Nah I think the original was off-model in that regard though the graphical overhaul might not have done it any favours. It is still some of the best facial capture in the business. I would love a game that had the faces of LA Noire with the limb mo-cap of those later Tony Hawk games.

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WAIT Did I just miss out on the “Do you f kids?” “ARE YOU INSANE!!?” :sob: :joy:

Ooh, if you can remember what scene/location I have to do to get that special thing I’d be really grateful.
Seems that’s the next case that’s starting up for me. (I guess they’ve slotted in DLC cases into the main story path, kinda cool. Would have never noticed.)

I’m kind of gonna play this game like a TV Show I think. One case per session, they’re of decent length for an hour or two and I really like to stop and think during interrogations.

We’ll see if I break and read a guide. If I completely fail a case I just might, but I don’t want it to become a habit…

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Yep and it is “Are you a Mad Man?” That is important because, like half the cast of the game, Phelps’ actor Aaron Staton was on Mad Men.

Plus it is a very big part of helping to understand the motives of the vandal.

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The correct order to do a Slip of the Tongue is 6 West 2nd Street then heading to the automotive lot then the address you get from the dealership located off Fremont then the police station then Western Union then the printers then the autobody shop then back to the printworks. Follow that and you will get the full picture that being said I have seen people complete the case and not follow every beat it wants you too.

The worst penalty for going against what the game wants is usually confined to the murder cases and even then what the game considers the “correct” choice and the “wrong” choice.

Just that scene we were all talking about has happened already and you missed it. The only truly funny scene in A Slip of the Tongue happens if you fuck it up miserably and you accuse absolutely zero members of the Argentine government of sexual misconduct in this case. LA Noire might be the only game that allows you to do such a thing.