Video Game Discussion Thread Part 10: Video Games Fucking Suck

[monkeyskin]

Oh and I just found out that EB games do a 7 day 'change of mind' return policy. Been wanting to play Captain Toad and Sonic Mania but $60 for ~8 hours of game felt excessive. But now I think I'll be 'renting' them from EB haha.

 

[cobl04]

Oh man. We are so similar haha (when it comes to video games. Definitely not film). I'm in Sydney about once every three months, we should get a drink.

I've got DOOM instead of Wolfenstein but totally agree with you regarding how these new FPS compare to consoles / PC versions. I'm not a graphics snob in the slightest, so the fact that I can play a game this new and intense on the go more than compensates for a lower frame rate / pixel count / whatever. I'd become an occasional gamer until the Switch came out so maybe I just haven't been spoiled by the jump in graphics this decade.

They're offering the original Zeldas online too! I just hope they roll out SNES and other systems too before too long, not that many NES games I'd want to pick up again tbh.

There should be a main Direct in September, hoping for some 3rd party surprises. A mainline GTA game would be an insta-buy.

Yes!!! And I really hope that more third parties will realise that a lot of Nintendo gamers don't give a fuck about graphics. Sadly I think it's that attitude that will preclude us from getting a GTA port - Rockstar will say that to port it they have to sacrifice too much of the software for it to fit the Switch's hardware. Not accounting for the fact that they could make millions more dollars by porting V, even if it's only 75 per cent as powerful.

I've complained a lot in this thread about the lack of X-axis invert in games (the only console I ever played prior to the Switch was an N64, and both BotW and Odyssey have X-axis invert) but I've had to swallow the fact that most developers won't patch it into their games, so I switched BotW to normal X-axis, and I think it holds me in good stead. Wolfenstein II (I also played Wolfenstein 3D back in the day, and I smiled a lot when I realised the 'don't hurt me daddy' level difficulty has remained haha) doesn't seem unplayable, although admittedly there might be a psychological difference as it's first-person not third-person. I will probably pick up Doom once I'm done with Wolfenstein (if I complete it before the Party-Smash-Pokemon triumvirate of the final quarter that is...!). And then in 2019 we've got Gen VIII of Pokemon, a completely new Metroid (I don't give a fuck if that doesn't come out until 2020 if it means they make it more awesome) and a gorgeous Yoshi RPG that seems reminiscent of my favourite video game of all time, Paper Mario.

I got a classic SNES - Link to the Past blew my mind, and that's in 2018. I think you're a bit older than me, did you grow up with the NES/SNES? Because I cannot imagine how mindblowing Link to the Past must have been in the early 90s. But yeah I hope they will bring it to Switch Online. I'm sure they will. I think their marketing strategy is 'say as little as possible to get people paying in the first instance and then we'll make it awesome'.

Oh and I just found out that EB games do a 7 day 'change of mind' return policy. Been wanting to play Captain Toad and Sonic Mania but $60 for ~8 hours of game felt excessive. But now I think I'll be 'renting' them from EB haha.

Haha. You should watch Gamey Gamey Game, an Aussie gaming podcast hosted by comedians. It's fucking hilarious and it was this episode that got me into it:

 

[LuckyNumber7]

EB Games and Gloria Jeans Coffee.

Australia was a blast from the past.

 

[monkeyskin]

Oh man. We are so similar haha (when it comes to video games. Definitely not film). I'm in Sydney about once every three months, we should get a drink.

We'll defo have to sometime.

I got a classic SNES - Link to the Past blew my mind, and that's in 2018. I think you're a bit older than me, did you grow up with the NES/SNES? Because I cannot imagine how mindblowing Link to the Past must have been in the early 90s. But yeah I hope they will bring it to Switch Online. I'm sure they will. I think their marketing strategy is 'say as little as possible to get people paying in the first instance and then we'll make it awesome.

Had a NES at the tail end of its lifecycle and then a MegaDrive a few years later, so I missed out on SNES at the time. Read about them all in Nintendo magazines and longed for them. But then PlayStation came along and that was it for a while. Getting a Super Famicom from Japan last year and a stack of games was a childhood dream come true though.

 

[cobl04]

Oh man, did you have to fork out heaps for the Famicom?!

 

[monkeyskin]

$40 with 2 controllers and cables from Akhibara, Tokyo. They look after their retro treasures haha. There's one store called Super Potato, they dedicate a floor to each console generation. Spent way too long there and loved it.

 

[monkeyskin]

Basically brought all this back, good times!

 

[LemonMelon]

Found that I absolutely love playing indies on my Switch. Really into Shovel Knight right now.

 

[cobl04]

I find the smaller titles so hit and miss and I just don't know how people get the time to play so many games. There's like a 1000 titles out on the Switch. I can't play more than two at once.

$40 with 2 controllers and cables from Akhibara, Tokyo. They look after their retro treasures haha. There's one store called Super Potato, they dedicate a floor to each console generation. Spent way too long there and loved it.

View attachment 12079

Basically brought all this back, good times!

Ohhhh man. I must go to Japan. That looks sick.

 

[bono_212]

My plans for my birthday next weekend are to spend all three days (I'm taking Friday off) playing the new Spiderman game. I may go outside for light once in a while, but that's it. I'm committed.

 

[cobl04]

That was one hell of a Nintendo Direct.

Yoshi's Crafted World
New Mario Bros U Deluxe
Luigi's Mansion 3
FFVII (omg), FFIX (omg), FFX, FFX-2
Civ VI (!)
Online w/NES controllers ??????
Cities Skylines (is this good/bad vs Simcity?!)

Plus Animal Crossing.

 

[monkeyskin]

Hey Cobs, how are you going with Octopath Traveller?

I'm about 65 hours in, just finished chapter 4 with my main man Therion and got the Warbringer job last night. Scored an Exp x100 in that dungeon and my party went from ~55 to ~60 haha.

I've been enjoying it, combat is heaps of fun and the way they encourage different parties keeps it fresh. Graphics are beautiful and even if the stories are slight, the chapter 3 twists and the overall world building is keeping me hooked.

My sister in law just scored a Switch bundle off gumtree so I'm debating either Skyrim (never played it), Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or Mario vs Rabbids next.

 

[gump]

Red

Dead

Redemption

2

 

[monkeyskin]

I wish. RDR is top 5 all time for me but I don't have a console to play it on. Or the time to sit on the couch and play it. Gonna buy a cheap PS4 eventually and remote play on the Vita.

 

[cobl04]

Hey Cobs, how are you going with Octopath Traveller?

I'm about 65 hours in, just finished chapter 4 with my main man Therion and got the Warbringer job last night. Scored an Exp x100 in that dungeon and my party went from ~55 to ~60 haha.

I've been enjoying it, combat is heaps of fun and the way they encourage different parties keeps it fresh. Graphics are beautiful and even if the stories are slight, the chapter 3 twists and the overall world building is keeping me hooked.

My sister in law just scored a Switch bundle off gumtree so I'm debating either Skyrim (never played it), Xenoblade Chronicles 2 or Mario vs Rabbids next.

Man I absolutely love it. I'm about 50 hours in, nearly finished with most of the Chapter 2s. Primrose, who I chose at the outset, is overpowered at like Lv34, which rules, and then all the others are around the Lv27 mark at the moment.

The graphics are stunning, the stories I really enjoy, it probably helps that I've never played a JRPG before so the tropes aren't so familiar to me. The combat is heaps of fun as you say and the skills, moves and abilities of each of the characters are quite diverse (even if the Path Actions are doubled up) which makes it really enjoyable and refreshes towns that you've already been.

What's making me really love it is the combo of the graphics and the soundtrack. The music is gorgeous, particularly in the snowy areas.

I'll get Skyrim soon, as I've half-trained myself to be able to play without needing to invert the X-axis. Mario Rabbids has no right to be as fun as it is, I don't play it much but it's heaps of fun when I do, if you like turn-based chess-board style gameplay you'll love it.

As for XC2... seems to be quite a polarising game. There's no in between. Some rate it as the best game on the Switch and others find it immensely frustrating. My partner's played about 30 hours but still doesn't really like it lol. But she's fussy. There's a character that you meet about 20 hours in who has an Australian accent however, so it's worth it for that alone. So funny.

I just picked up Super Mario Party which is not as good as the classics 1, 2 and 3 but much more enjoyable than most of the recent entries. Super excited for Pokemon Let's Go, which looks amazing and is out next month, and then Smash in December ahead of a big 2019.

 

[monkeyskin]

Damn, you've never played a JRPG and you went with Primrose? Diving in headfirst there. Her story is pretty cool, one of my favourites. I mainly use her as support with a Cleric subjob and try and get a maxed out Bewildering Grace in most fights.

How are you going in boss fights? The chapter bosses have been a breeze so far but some of the optional dungeon bosses have kicked my ass a few times.

Happy to see you stoked for the PS1 Final Fantasies coming out next year, 7 and 9 are stone cold classics for a reason if you can get past the dated graphics.

Yeah I've been a bit put off of XC2 because even those that do love it say it takes about 15 hours to become enjoyable. Didn't want to risk $80 on that, but a long term lend is handy.

Probably going to wait for sales on Mario Party, Pokémon and Smash as now I've got enough to keep me busy for months. And my wife has already informed me that she'll be commandeering the Switch when Animal Crossing comes out.

 

[cobl04]

Haha yeah she was one of the options in the prologue demo, and I fell in love with her story very quickly.

The chapter bosses have been pretty easy so far, they take time but I don't think I've lost to one yet... but yeah same thing, a few of the dungeons have whipped me. The chapter bosses don't do enough damage whereas in some of the dungeons the enemies have the power to wipe out half your team's health in one hit.

I've no idea why Animal Crossing is the beloved franchise that it is, guess I'll find out next year haha.

 

[DaveC]

i'm more excited for red dead redemption 2 than i've been for any new game release since at least fallout 4.

 

[cobl04]

That's the one drawback of Nintendo consoles... we'll never get games like them.

 

[DaveC]

and on the other hand, i'll never get to play breath of the wild.

 

[cobl04]

Best video game I've ever played.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

i'm more excited for red dead redemption 2 than i've been for any new game release since at least fallout 4.

Agreed 100%. RDR has one of the best stories for a video game ever.

 

[DaveC]

now that i think about it i was really hyped up for no man's sky so it was probably that one.

i actually downloaded and fired it up when i bought my new PC in june to test the graphics and played long enough to warp to the next star - with all the updates it's considerably better now, and on ultra settings it's really gorgeous. don't know if it's enough to hold my interest for much longer than that personally, though. i might go back to it at some point when i'm bored but i doubt for very long.

 

[U2inUtah]

I've played my share of No Man's Sky on PS4. I was actually naming my star systems after U2 albums, and then naming each planet and moon after a track on said albums. Unfortunately the NEXT update erased over all the names. Ahh well. The added ringed planets are pretty cool, but yeah it's also an easy game to lose interest in.

 

[cobl04]

I love the idea behind that game.

 

[DaveC]

 

[LuckyNumber7]

 

[DaveC]

i've been quite sick with a stomach virus and working from home/taking it easy-ish the first half of this week, which really sucks because i was planning for a long time to call in fake-sick on friday and play red dead all day.

 

[DaveC]

well, the game's preloaded and i can play it in four minutes. see y'all some time in 2019.

 

[DaveC]

my xbox store was somehow set to pacific time when it told me 9 pm