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Consolidated GTAVVR trip report....

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here

I say! The stuff I read on the internet these days!

I would first ask what platform you are playing on, @ynwtf? I presume you are on PC if you got that package with the DLC. I also play on PC, and I must say I can't recall any glitches in my play experience with me now having put over 200+ hours into the game, except for maybe a few-and-far-between crash to desktop that happened ages ago. I have spent some time tweaking everything to optimize the game on my PC, so that may have helped in that regard.

Some of your other issues with the game, as you mentioned (the view etc.), will probably smooth out over time. I would only ask that you give the game a good few hours and let the story unfold a bit more before deciding to put it down.

I have mentioned in the past that the chink in the armor is most certainly the combat, in that it isn't the deepest system out there, but after you unlock and upgrade some abilities, it does get better, and as you practice with it, using the signs etc. becomes more fluid.

So yea, best Western RPG of all time and all that. Just give it a little time and then please report back!

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Thanks, all, for the comments. They're much appreciated. As I mentioned, I think more time in will soften a lot of my issues. I just hope that's sooner than later.

I'm on PS4 so that could be a huge factor in the clippy transitions. Being on console may also affect the interface and controls that, right now, feel clunky. It also might have been a bad idea to start this right after CONTROL, which for me, has the smoothest and most intuitive interface that I can remember playing.

Right now I am still in the introductions. There are still quite a lot of instructional pop-ups interrupting flow, and the ghost in the well quest felt mostly like a read along than a quest. The bulk my frustration is the constant interruption of information and narration, and I think that will ease as I get farther into the game world. Maybe just wandering around might help.

You're not done with the tutorial until you leave White Orchard, after having Witched a fair bit. The game opens up more afterwards.

I've put the most of my time (150-ish hours) into the game on PC but have the PS4 version as well. It's locked at 30 but I never found any performance spikes, although I'm on a Pro.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

Speaking of The Witcher III...

I am far enough into Assassin's Creed : Odyssey to do a proper comparison of the two somewhat similar titles.

AC: Odyssey is an impressive game. An absolutely massive open world, firmly grounded in the historical period of the Peloponnesian War War, this sword and sandals epic checks all the boxes one would expect from a hybrid of The Witcher III and Assassin's Creed. Boring the best of both worlds, it does its best to bring it all together in a cohesive and seamless package. It mostly succeeds, but along the way, sheds some of the charm of the former title, and quite a bit of the focus of the latter. While the characters and writing aren't weak, per se, they are a far cry from the engaging and memorable cast of The Witcher III. The Witcher III's cast of characters, even down to the smallest bit players, are for the most part, unique and memorable, bursting with personality. Odyssey's main cast is decent, but once you get down to the bit players, they are basically cardboard cutouts, with some even sharing character models. I imagine it would be nigh impossible to populate a sandbox as vast as Odyssey's with the same level of distinction, but I am reminded of its shortcomings fairly often during my NPC interactions. It's a minor distraction, but it comes up quite a bit.

The environments in both games are top notch, with Witcher edging Odyssey in mystical mood and atmosphere, and Odyssey coming out on top by a fair amount in the lush density and detail. I emerged from a wooded thicket onto a moonlit beach in Odyssey, and both my wife and I let out audible gasps at the magnificence of the scene. The same goes for the historical locations and massive statues and temples that are just so damned cool and well done. Some areas are just dripping in history, really pulling you into the feel of the period. It's tough to explain what each game does better, as they both excel so highly at the environment game. Witcher feels more magical and vivid, while Odyssey feels more epic, I guess.

Combat: Odyssey gets the edge here. Three fully fleshed out styles, better stuff with the archery, and more overall abilities.

Story: Witcher, by a county mile. The story stuff has been fairly dry in Odyssey so far. Geralt, Yen, Triss, Dandelion and all the rest in The Witcher are just all amazing characters, and the way CDPR weaves all the main and side quests together into a cohesive whole is unmatched.

It's still The Witcher III for me as the king of the western sandbox RPG, keeping in mind I have yet to play RDR2.

I think you may enjoy RDR2 based on your comments and of what I'm picking up from past posts. I worry that the cowboy western theme doesn't really sit with The Witcher or Assassin's Creed, but if you can transition from sword to gun and no mythos apart from the American Wild West, then you might be alright.

I haven't touched Odyssey so I won't compare it, but I must say that riding around on horseback in RDR2 compared to The Witcher III is far superior, IMO. Keep in mind that I'm playing both on PS4 Pro, so your PC video card may not give you what my experience has been. Graphics aside, riding itself is much smoother, easier to control (though I have my complaints), and all in all a better experience. Turning to admire the landscapes in RDR2 is seamless while riding your mount, as is your auto return-to-center view once you release the controls. Starting, stopping, galloping, and dismounting are all easier too. The obvious riding trade-off is of course the distance between two points of interest; but, if exploring is of interest to you, then that probably isn't such a bad thing.

Landscapes are gorgeous and while not as populated with dense thickets of wind-blown brush and trees as tWIII, when you do come upon rain or when you see a huge thunderstorm brewing off in the distance from a perch of a mountain cliff, the view is breathtaking. I think the lesser frequency of such encounters probably adds to the awe when you finally do come upon one.

Character details, in random NPCs, are quite nice as well. I swear I passed a stranger on the road I could hear muttering to himself something about knowing treasure was near because he could feel it tickling him in his nethers. Or something to that affect. Writing is not as verbose as tWIII, but it does suit the history I think. There are some strange characters though, that's for sure.

Crafting and depth of the user interface is thin and shallow compared to tWIII so that's likely to be a strike or two for you, though I'm not at all happy with tWIII UI. For whatever it's worth, crafting (UI), environments, and combat in Monster Hunter: World is excellent! But story and character acting are nearly nonexistent.

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Off topic:
I've put a few more hours into tWIII today and it is growing on me. I've given up on assigning a target for attack as that, so far, has dropped every few seconds and I find myself swinging wild. At least I can use the left stick to direct my attacks without it, so maybe it's for the best anyway. I've killed a griffon, ran a few other quests, and have spoken with Yennefer. I believe I'm still only level 3, so I figure I'll just ride around White Orchard a bit more.

I'm not getting as dizzy as often, but between using the vision ability and the constantly blowing plant life crowding the pathways while my horse cuts hard left and right to stay on path, it does all still get to me.

I found the battlefield with all the dead bodies to loot. I figured I would make a killing (pun intended), selling everything. I did, and it lasted right up until I needed to buy food. W.T.F. is up with the cost of food in this game!? lol. Like 49 coins (whatever the in-game currency is) for ONE LOAF OF BREAD!? I'm selling looted swords for 3 coins average, each. In the end, for all that gear I carried back to town in two trips I got 2 repairs, 4 dismantles, and 3 loafs of bread where the bread took two-thirds of my purse. I guess the cost of wheat reflects the destruction of war...

There are still very weird things I notice that bug me. For example: during the griffon kill quest, right as the griffon is swooping down to attack me, Vesemir (?) paused the game play and hands me a crossbow. Um. I assume that, given the timing, it's something important to use in slaying the creature. Is that the best opportune time to bring it up? And with no tutorial other than how to equip it (but not use it)? Wuuuuuuuuat? That threw me, considering how overboard all the previous UI instructional pop-ups have been. It wasn't until after I killed the thing (and maybe 10 other random world creatures) that I discovered there was a targeting reticle.

Also, what happens to the other quest sheets that I've taken from the info board in the starter village? I only see 2 in my quest information box. Same question for the Crafting Diagrams I've been looting. I don't see them in my inventory. I DO see that the blacksmith has several diagrams. Are those mine? If so, why does he have them in his inventory?

Anyhoo. Enough of the negative. The game is getting better, so I'll give it more time. I'm wondering now if the UI is different on PC. I know some games probably have to consolidate and simplify UI elements when porting to console. I could just be suffering from that and may regret not starting on PC.

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"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

"I just can't get pass sticking a finger up a dog's butt." - John Dumbear

Quick update. I GUESS I put another 4 hours in tonight after getting home. I've learned main story isn't going to level me at all. I'm barely making headway running hidden location quest chains.

I just spent all I have on the two Viper sword builds so my damage is pretty good considering whatvive come up against so far. I am broke though, and I'm just short of level 4.

With all the lootable items within a stone's throw from each other, I can see how this game can get addictive with the constant endorphin hit.

Any suggestions on leveling faster? Yennefer's quest line puts me in a suggested level 10 zone and im just shy of 4. Feels like it may be a while before my character catches up with the main story.

Barring my previously stated issues, it is growing on me. Attacks are mostly a 5/5 +25% skilled fast attack with a fire blast when enemies are grouped. Seems to work even with shielded foes.

Definitely worth $15. Just wish I had played closer to release before getting spoiled on more recent UI.

One of the more maddening things about W3 is that quests and rewards don't level with you - If you're level 10 and do something marked level 5, you'll get barely any exp for it. There's a mod for it, but only on PC.

Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.

I give up. You win. Witcher III quests are much better after the trainer zone. Gameplay is pretty easy and between quests and hidden locations, there is very little down time. Leveling is incredibly slow but this area I'm in has like 20 info boards and 50 or so hidden locations.

Soundtrack reminds me of Diablo II a lot. Game play and mood are also very similar, IMO, with a dark magic hack-n-slash kinda thing. I'm still rocking quick attacks and the fire spell without much need to change up yet.

Im glad Rockstar isn't the only developer to not have clue how to get your horse through, around, or out of trees. That will be a comfort of home when taking on RDR2.

I beat the Switch version of Links Awakening. Pure nostalgia

It wouldn't be Witcher 3 without Roach stuck halfway up a tree or wedged in a doorway.

When the game came out I marvelled at how well the horsies controlled, especially compared to Assassin's Creed etc. RDR2 takes things to a whole new level though - I love the way horses behave in Red Dead. They've all got distinct personalities.

Oh my. Lots of $9 games. Persona 5, Horizon ZD and GTsport. Never has irrational consumerism pulled on me so hard.


I really want to play p5 again, well, if I could delete the combat. Everything else is fab.

Excellent...glad you are getting the full WIII experience! Enjoy being under-leveled while it lasts... I am forever over-leveled in this game, which sort of locks me into the method of always skimming my quest log and focusing on whatever quests are the lowest level, so I can complete them before they turn grey. The cool thing is that all the side quests are so damned well done, it's always a pleasure.

I take it you are in Velen now? Pretty somber place overall. Say Hi to the Baron for me.

A quick note on RDR. I played the original twice through, and I adore Wild West stuff, so I will eventually play the new one.

I just put a WWF (cuz I'm old enough to remember) smack down on that baron last night. We're now knee deep in miscarried baby fetus ghosts. Wtf?!

Yes, I've crossed the line of level mismatch when I'm now having to be mindful to track lower quests first to not pass them. I think my level issue had two parts. One, I kept finding gear with requirements of 2+ levels past where I was. And two, I came at this with the idea that levels worked like other RPG I've played where I'm maxing 99 levels or whatever.

But yeah, the game is much better outside of white orchard. Some dialogue can go on for days though. That's probably exaggerated by constantly hearing Xavier: Renegade Angel every time Geralt speaks





Don't kill me.

I think I'm enjoying RDR2 Online more than I did the single player. You can totally lose yourself in just being a cowboy and not get distracted by the nagging feeling that there's a quest you should be doing. It's improved immeasurably since launch and has just the right amount of online randos being d**ks (surprisingly few, especially compared to GTA5 Online) compared to folks who just come in and sit at your campfire to chill.

I figured they wouldn't have been able to resist shark-carding the online, but it's kinda surprising to read you can't buy fancy mounts, just weapons. (The personalisation of the horses sounds really cool by the way )

Only a matter of time though I reckon. There'll be guys wearing zebra hats riding bears. No doubts

(I wonder if RDR attracts a different kinda crowd overall to GTA. I wouldn't have minded P2W vehicle and weapon imbalance in GTAO if it hadn't been for the, well the dicks in tanks and the way it rained sticky bombs at every intersection . Can imagine a moseying version being maybe a bit more chill. The odd sniper suckage, but less chance of a jet plane being flown into your brain at any given moment)

And talking of customised rides...

I've spent the last few nights just happily driving cars outside the city limits to pimp them at Franklin's freebie garage... (only stopping for any emergent tangles along the way...)





I seem to be favouring garish muscles cars and retro hot hatches . (The Dukes-esque one with the Jamican flag on the roof is kinda my favourite though...)

The luxury beasts are cool, but they have a tendency to go so fast in town that I start getting hitching amongst the high rise. (Or at worst, the floor disappears...). So I'm sticking to silly drifty things that growl while driving up hills...

Trevor is annoyed that mobile homes cannot be customised....

Basically, you can buy anything for sale in the game with the in-game currency or gold bars, which you also earn in the game, or can buy for real cash. Most of the stuff is gated by player level but you can usually (not in some cases though) get around that by handing over more gold.

For instance, a certain fancy hat is $200 in game bucks or 2 gold bars but you need to be level 60 to buy it. If you fancy it, you can hand over, say, 5 gold bars and get it whatever level you are.

I've bought a few of the cheapest gold packs over the last year, and got the online pass/battle pass thing, which costs something like 15 bars but you'll make more than that back if you fully level it. It's actually not a bad deal and really expands what you can do in the game - Ordinarily they're a bit mealy-mouthed about rewards: Do a daily challenge and you get 0.2 gold bars!

Oh, and I bought Shadowkeep for Destiny 2.

Destiny 2 has its hooks in me again.

Looking for a new platformer... Anyone played these YookaLaylee games?