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“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
Who needs five fingers? That looks like lots of fun.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
Talking of my favourite ever games, One Finger Death Punch (the game which gave me actual rsi and I still adored it) is getting a sequel!

neaT.
Reminds me of those old Xiao Xiao flash animations.
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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



The People's Republic of Clogher
I'm going for the hat-trick. This is old, but might be of interest if new to you:

Classic Postmortem: Deadly Premonition







Jokey quotes aside it's actually pretty intriguing
I'm about half way through Deadly Premonition again on Xbone. The Xbox version doesn't have any of the quality of life improvements that the Director's Cut (only on PS3 and PC) has, but the PS3's framerate is appalling and the Steam port crashes every 45 minutes for me.

It's as maddening and as wonderful as eve.
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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



A system of cells interlinked
I was thinking about Life is Strange yesterday, and then I recalled that a prequel had been released, and I had spaced out on playing it. Is it worth the price of admission, and is it worth getting the DLC, as well?
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“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ― Thomas Sowell



The People's Republic of Clogher
I was thinking about Life is Strange yesterday, and then I recalled that a prequel had been released, and I had spaced out on playing it. Is it worth the price of admission, and is it worth getting the DLC, as well?
Life is Strange was my game of the year when it came out but I avoided getting Before the Storm, mainly because it was made by a completely different team but also because it didn't have the time travelling mechanic.

I've since seen a number of people saying that the prequel is good once you get beyond the first episode. Like, really good...

I'll definitely pick it up some day, but not today.



A system of cells interlinked
Life is Strange was my game of the year when it came out but I avoided getting Before the Storm, mainly because it was made by a completely different team but also because it didn't have the time travelling mechanic.

I've since seen a number of people saying that the prequel is good once you get beyond the first episode. Like, really good...

I'll definitely pick it up some day, but not today.
The time manipulation was clearly important in the first one, and it made for some interesting story turns, but when I think back on the game (which I played through multiple times), the time shifting is never in the forefront of the recollection. The story beats and characterization are what affected me most, I guess. I hear this aspect is excellent in the newer game.

My wife in still mid-episode 5 in the first game, with poor Max left tied to a chair. She knew the end of the game was heavy-hitting emotionally, having witnessed me sitting gobsmacked on my office chair, so she got anxious about continuing on. I just wish she would have at least played through the section she was in. Poor Max! :P

Maybe I will wait for the thing to go on sale again, and then i will take the plunge.



Bleh. I know I'm going to buy it eventually, probably when it's cheaper. And I know it'll be good, but Life is Strange was definitely a game that tested the limits of what is really enjoyable to play, because it was kinda gut-wrenching. At times, that made it better. At other times, it felt kinda manipulative (and I think the fan service stuff you can let people do romantically with some of the characters felt forced and predictable).

But yeah, I'm sure it'll be well made and have some good moments, so I'll play it eventually. But weirdly, I'm not even looking forward to it. I guess that's sort of to it's credit, because that means it's got it's emotional hooks in me, but I can easily foresee a lot of other games doing this with a bit lest deftness and becoming outright awful to play, even when they're "good," with the only solution being to avoid them entirely so you don't get dragged around emotionally by them.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
Just wanted to wedge this in here, but I'm still enamored by Arkham Asylum. I'm really blown away by how much I've enjoyed this game considering how much time has passed.

It was a low-level entry game in which I could spam the attack button and do reasonably well in the first few areas, but progressed well enough that I'm now having to make use of the bonus content just to practice timing, defense, and gadget use. That's pretty cool IMO. Combat animations are shockingly fluid and feel like I'm in control of things as long as I don't get impatient or panic, which is easy to do. I love that I can explore and return to any area at any time, barring Ivy's plants blocking access one way or another, and I really enjoy how the Riddler's clues are hidden at different tiers of access dependent on your gear progression. I just passed Poison Ivy and, while that fight drove me mad with the vines and thugs coming at me, there was still an 80's style throwback vibe that I was picking up on. She totally reminded me of the old NES classic boss fights, Contra (1988) by Konami. Loved it. And I'm still loving this game.

I'm not sure how replay-ability will hold up once I've discovered all the riddles, but at least there are more games in the franchise to chase down after completing this one.



The People's Republic of Clogher
Don't Nod's new game, Vampyr, is out in a few months. I don't really know what to expect as their previous action orientated game, Remember Me, had heart but was pretty mediocre.

@Sedai - The time travel mechanic was what initially hooked me into the game. It was a nice change from the standard narrative adventure game structure.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
Wait till somebody hears there is one secret left in Nier Automata...



The People's Republic of Clogher
Wait till somebody hears there is one secret left in Nier Automata...
Doubt I'll ever go back to that game, at least not any time soon.

For those unaware, I unlocked the final canonical ending.

WARNING: "Neir ending" spoilers below
As you play through the level you gradually destroy your game save and when the end is reached, the PS4 deletes what's left. I'd be starting the game again from scratch if I was to load it up.


The way they do this is one of the most jaw-dropping things I've seen in a game in a good long while.



Let the night air cool you off
Don't Nod's new game, Vampyr, is out in a few months. I don't really know what to expect as their previous action orientated game, Remember Me, had heart but was pretty mediocre.
I know it's not, but I'll pretend that game is based on the Dreyer film.



The People's Republic of Clogher
One of my bigger problems with Fallout 4 is the settlement building mechanic. Leaving aside how unwieldy and tacked-on it feels, why don't your settlers ever do anything for themselves?

I feel like the Lone Babysitter rather than the Lone Wanderer half the time...

Anyway, a mod is at hand as always and I've just installed it - Sim Settlements!



It looks a little mechanical but kinda amazing what he's been able to do.



there's a frog in my snake oil
One of my bigger problems with Fallout 4 is the settlement building mechanic. Leaving aside how unwieldy and tacked-on it feels, why don't your settlers ever do anything for themselves?

I feel like the Lone Babysitter rather than the Lone Wanderer half the time...

Anyway, a mod is at hand as always and I've just installed it.
Have heard great things about the mod, but also that it becomes an even worse resource hog than standard settlement-bloat, so have stayed away

As much as the vanilla settlements are kinda my biggest bugbear in one way (mainly because I feel I have to sort them out, so bumping into one unexpectedly can mess with my desired evening vibe...)

I kinda think it's cute how many little systems they tucked into them for the NPCs though, given the game's bredth etc. The most technically impressive probably being:
  • The persistent trade route guys: Having them criss-cross the vast areas, always kitted out as you left them, making those areas you've traversed a bit safer, sometimes rocking up as the sun sets, sometimes encountered out in the right bit of no-man's land. (Of course they're normally stuck behind a tree permanently, or killing enemies by walking over their mines, but that's intended I'm sure )
  • Non-character NPCs giving you radiant quests then remembering the outcome and commenting on it occasionally.

Stuff they didn't have to do but I'm glad they did. Give's the places a a greater sense of growth and being embedded in the area.

On little pro-active things that it's easy to miss though, I like how they:
  • Will pick up better grade ammo (and use better supplied guns), if you leave some in the Workshop.
  • Scavenge **** if you still can't assign them to anything. Stuff good.
  • Chat to your companions, sometimes laying out some local lore.
  • Use your power armour if you leave power in it...
  • Gather at comfortable spots as evening draws in, and bars at night..

Plus all the faux hammering of items and chuntering about recent raids and that. Ain't bad for a game that's rammed with a lot of other stuff too. I feel like a paternal mad max when I drop back . One day I might even trust them with shotgun shells...
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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here



there's a frog in my snake oil
Oh and Star Citizen's 3.1 alpha is out to private testing. Woooo.

It's got all your favourite old bugs...





Plus some exciting new ones!



But yes I know it's wrong to laugh at the afflicted. And yes I know it's alpha. Like, an abnormally long alpha, that should probably still be in greybox having its actual gameplay worked on and refined, but ok, it's the alpha-that's-trying-things-nobody-has-done-before...

So I'll cut it some slack.

And just note that the miracle Networking technique (Bind Culling) that's supposed to fix all the performance issues, and was initially slated for Q4 2016.... hasn't quite made the cut. But they think it might work once they get Object Container Streaming in. Which they're going to start working on, as it's cued up for Q3.

I have every faith in them. And I'm not alone...




The People's Republic of Clogher
I almost bought a month of EA Access just so I could play 10 hours of Burnout Paradise Remastered a week before release. Then I remembered I own the original game on PS3. Then I remembered I own the original game on 360/Xbone.

Then I remembered I own the original game on Steam .... and also Origin (although that one was free).

I think I can wait until next Friday.

EDIT - Talking of Netflix style game services, I decided to make some actual use of the Xbox Game Pass and not just blindly wait for Sea of Thieves' release. I downloaded ReCore.

It was one of Microsoft's big exclusives in the early days of the Xbone and ... well ... it's not exactly Bloodborne or Uncharted. A serviceable enough action adventure game with a Borderlands-y feel to the environment and a savage auto lock-on to your weapons which makes even vague aiming a thing of the past.

It's average and forgettable (and that's even after extensive patching, which is supposed to have fleshed things out more), a bit like the early days of the Xbox One.

Sea of Thieves is when?

EDIT 2 - 2016? Wow, I thought ReCore was close to a launch game. That makes it even blander...



Most interesting man in the world
Mostly been playin :



they updated the game recently with "better" graphics,a "higher" difficulty
& more zombies




what I have installed ATM
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The People's Republic of Clogher
Any XCOM 2 fans here?

War of the Chosen is cheaper than it's ever been on Steam (for the next 24 hours) so I snagged it. It promises basically an entirely new experience, so I jumped at the chance.

I liked the original XCOM 2 but not as much as I did Enemy Within.