OT: Video Game Talk (oh, also the Week before the All-Star Break Pre-Game Talk "archive")
- Thread starter Bill Peckerskull
- Start date
Jokic plays League, I honestly think that's why he always has wrist issues.
I dropped Horizon: Forbidden West after a good 30ish hours because it had the misfortune of releasing right before Elden Ring...so I finally picked it back up and can't put it down again. It's such a colossal improvement over the first game (which I enjoyed thoroughly, to the point of a platinum), cashing in on what you'd hope to see from any sequel. The visuals are just ridiculous. Graphical fidelity has always been a strength of Guerilla's and they were just straight up flexing with this one.
The combat is deeper, with extensive skill trees and plenty of opportunity to plan and execute your attack on a bandit camp or hunt on a boss monster. The cosmetic customization is good, the weapon selection is diverse and satisfying, and there's just an overwhelming amount of shit to do (almost to a fault). And don't get me STARTED on Machine Strike. Reviewers crapped on it, but that minigame is fun as hell. Not quite Queen's Blood-caliber, but it's close.
Unfortunately, the game's biggest flaw remains from the first game. The story is convoluted, bloated and, worst of all, boring. As invested as I've been in world itself, it's a shame that that the storytelling and characters have done little to captivate. The game as a whole is good enough to invest a ton of time into, but it's clear as to why the series hasn't gone down as an all-timer. Still, if you're a fan of open-world action adventure games...it doesn't get much better.
The combat is deeper, with extensive skill trees and plenty of opportunity to plan and execute your attack on a bandit camp or hunt on a boss monster. The cosmetic customization is good, the weapon selection is diverse and satisfying, and there's just an overwhelming amount of shit to do (almost to a fault). And don't get me STARTED on Machine Strike. Reviewers crapped on it, but that minigame is fun as hell. Not quite Queen's Blood-caliber, but it's close.
Unfortunately, the game's biggest flaw remains from the first game. The story is convoluted, bloated and, worst of all, boring. As invested as I've been in world itself, it's a shame that that the storytelling and characters have done little to captivate. The game as a whole is good enough to invest a ton of time into, but it's clear as to why the series hasn't gone down as an all-timer. Still, if you're a fan of open-world action adventure games...it doesn't get much better.
I have a feeling that new Indiana Jones game is going to flop hard. They're not allowing anyone to review the game before release, and did not send anyone, even big YouTubers pre-release codes, and it has Denuvo DRM for the PC version. Microsoft buying Bethesda, might end up killing the brand. Starfield sold well, but was not the homerun they were hoping for. Redfall was a complete disaster. The next doom should still be solid, judging by the gameplay. However if Doom or the next elder scrolls game fails, it could lead to drastic changes in the studio. Microsoft really needs to move away from this whole family-friendly, for everyone crap they've been going with lately. Listen to the core audience and deliver good game. Game pass will keep them a float, but they'll start shutting down more and more studios if they can't sell games.
Edit: looks like the game won't have Denuvo after all. According to Bethesda, the Denuvo was only in the prebuilds to prevent leaks. The rest still sounds very not good though.
Edit: looks like the game won't have Denuvo after all. According to Bethesda, the Denuvo was only in the prebuilds to prevent leaks. The rest still sounds very not good though.
Last edited:
Will be building my first ever gaming PC once the last 2 parts are sent (hopefully today), and just in time for POE 2. Super excited about both.
Nice. What kind of rig did you put together? I wanted to build my own, but I found a good deal on a pre-built and took the cowards way out.
POE2 really does look awesome. You know it's going to be good when the Diablo 4 devs are all mad about it.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor
Mobo: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: TEAMGROUP Vulcan Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
Storage: Patriot Viper VP4300 Lite 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: PNY VERTO OC GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB Video Card
Power: MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Wasn't compiled by me. Buddy showed me this popular discord server, you get them some details on things like budget, what you plan to do, country, etc and they compile a pcpartspicker for you
- Jul 27, 2021
- 2,503
- 3,815
I don't see this as Microsoft's interference, but rather Bethesda's own internal stagnation, which started years before acquisition.
Super important developer when we look at the evolution of video games (Morrowind, Skyrim), but I think gamers are increasingly realizing that the "Bethesda formula" is becoming more and more stagnant similar to what's happened with public perception of the "Ubisoft formula."
That sounds like a really solid build. You shouldn't experience any bottlenecking with those parts. Should be perfect for 1080p, or 1440 with DLSS.
Ya, will be 1080p, as I'm just going to be using my monitor from my PS5. Hopefully by the end of next summer I can look at moving into the 1440 range
I'd argue that Microsoft is keeping them stagnant. Microsoft bought them to be the Bethesda that made Skyrim, so that's exactly what the did with Starfield. If Bethesda wasn't acquired, I think they would have taken more chances and tried to innovate more. Even with Fallout 4, they added base building and a few other QOL enhancements. But with Starfield, it was just Skyrim in space, with the fallout 4 base building turned Starship maker. The only thing they added at launch from those two games, was spaceship combat. And while it was functional, it definitely wasn't a huge draw. They really needed to flesh out the planets better, and cut down on the load screens.
I know most people want the high-end PCs for newer 1440/4k gaming, but I find myself playing old games with Mods a lot more than new games nowadays. PC is definitely the cheapest, and most fun way to game. I wish I would have seen the light sooner.
SaltySkywalker
Bushes of Love
Did anyone ever get and play Star Wars Outlaws? I was hyped on that game and then the release came and went with very little coverage. Maybe I missed all the reviews, but seems to me it might have busted?
Ceremony
How I choose to feel is how I am
- Jun 8, 2012
- 114,335
- 17,443
expatriatedtexan
Habitual Line Stepper
- Aug 17, 2005
- 18,971
- 15,502
I used to spend way too much time on pcpartpicker. That site is pretty amazing.
Alan Wake II Deluxe Edition is 50% off on the PlayStation Store. Only a few hours in and I am HOOKED. The structure and narrative design is something else, with some big time True Detective and gothic noir vibes. Not to mention the game is just flat out stunning. Remedy made me a fan after Control (one of the most underrated third-person action games in recent memory imo) and if AWII can maintain this level of quality throughout I'd be pretty comfortable saying that they are one of the premier game devs at the moment.
