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Kevin Klemme
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Mycelia Board Game Review

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River Wild Board Game Review

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Outback Crossing Review

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What VIDEO GAME(s) have you been playing?

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19 Jun 2017 10:38 #250122 by Matt Thrower
Been playing Ziggurat, a fantasy FPS that came in a recent humble bundle. It looks fantastic - you'd never guess it was a fairly low budge indie game. And at first it seems to play really well too. Right up until you work out that circling while shooting into the middle is essentially the way to beat everything. At least everything I've encountered so far.

Still, it's quite addictive. It's got procedural generation and random upgrades when you level, so every trip is a new box of delights. Certainly worth the 3p or whatever tiny amount it cost as part of the bundle.

One odd thing about the achievements: equal numbers of people have the achievement for finishing the game and dying 10 times. Which suggests that's about how long it takes to master circling round and shooting at all the different enemy types.

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19 Jun 2017 11:00 #250125 by jpat
Continuing to play, struggle with, and curse out MLB the Show 17. I've switched to directional (rather than zone) hitting because I continue to have problems with both timing and positioning, so focusing more on just timing seemed like a good idea, at least in the short term. My Road to the Show character, Hugo Bronk, shaved off his mullet but is still hitting below the Mendoza line with the Pirates; maybe it's because his actual age is 35 instead of 19. I kind of wish they'd send him back down to the minors. I ground out some better games but still hardly managed to move the needle, though I do think the directional hitting interface is a bit easier (and if it's luck-based, I could use a bit of luck).

Also played the first episode of Life is Strange, which is a "free"* PSN download this month. I quite enjoyed it, particularly after struggling with reaction-time games. I know a lot of people don't have much interest in interactive movies with a modicum of button pushing, but they have some appeal to me as a way to get some of the story of the more narrative-driven triple-A games without the pressure of, well, doing much of anything.

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19 Jun 2017 18:41 #250161 by Michael Barnes
Been playing a couple of video games lately:

- Arms is an interesting one. I got it, and on day 1 I played for a little while using the standard sticks and buttons controls...and I thought "wow, this game is not very good". It looks great- it has an almost kind of classic Tezuka style about it and it is certainly VERY novel. But I was not feeling the gameplay at all. On day 2, I tried the motion controls. And I was like "OK, so THERE'S the game". The motion controls are GREAT, and they make the game really a lot of fun. I would go so far as to say that it may be the best use of motion controls I've seen yet. There's a real sense of tactility and control. So far, I'm not even able to beat the ladder on a medium difficulty. I keep getting stuck on these slam dunk matches, where you have to use grabs to throw your opponent into a basketball goal. It's goofy like that. It is looking like it may be another classic Nintendo game...but I can't try it with my kids until Christmas!

- Injustice 2 is SOOOOOO good, even though I don't care for the tiresome grim superhero thing. It is, like the first one, Mortal Kombat with DC characters. The fighting mechanics are outstanding, the depth is tremendous, and the action feels great. And like all of Nether Realm's games, it's PACKED with stuff to do across the entire game. And they have added a Diablo-like loot system. This sounds terrible, but it actually works really well. You earn Mother Boxes and decode them to get gear that increases stats and so forth. Not huge amounts, but there are set bonuses and such. So it gets into the loot chase aspect...and the IAP aspect too. But I've not felt any desire to buy more than I earn. The story is pretty dumb superhero pageant stuff, but it is fun to go through and play all the characters. Some of the roster adds are inspired- Swamp Thing, the Damian Wayne Robin, Captain Cold...and this edition's Killer Frost is Cheetah. The AI is excellent, the single player options are plentiful, and it plays just fine with a standard controller, which I really appreciate. Great fighting game with plenty of legs- actually thinking about buying the Darkseid and Red Hood character packs..
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19 Jun 2017 20:18 #250163 by Sevej
I've been randomly playing Galciv, Calciv II and Sins of a Solar Empire and keep asking myself why can't they make things simpler.

I mean, why can't I know the calculation of my income? How do I know the growth level of my people? How valuable is +10 something? Is creating a habitat in 11 turns is much better than creating a habitat in 12 turns? Do you really have to fill in every empty space on the screen with small types?

And why are they so sterile? MoO looks fun. It's now all clean lines and small texts.

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19 Jun 2017 23:53 - 19 Jun 2017 23:53 #250165 by hotseatgames
Despite trying a few times, neither Witcher nor Witcher 2 really grabbed me. My hang up was always combat, and how poor I was at it. The game was also not friendly to coming back after being away for a while.

Because of that, even though everyone was heaping praise on Witcher 3, I held off. But I finally took the plunge during gog.com's summer sale, and got the complete edition for $25. I've now sunk a couple of hours into it, and I think it's great. The graphics are awesome, the world is hyper detailed, and I think Geralt is a cool customer. I'd like to read some of the books at some point. I know the game is enormous, and I don't know if I'll make it through it, but for now I'm going to just relax and take things as they come.
Last edit: 19 Jun 2017 23:53 by hotseatgames.

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20 Jun 2017 00:27 - 20 Jun 2017 00:39 #250166 by Gary Sax
My advice is to do every main quest and Witcher contracts. Do the secondary quests you think are interesting.

I did every non gwent quest the last four months that I found, so I know what I'm talking about.
Last edit: 20 Jun 2017 00:39 by Gary Sax.

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20 Jun 2017 04:16 #250167 by Matt Thrower

hotseatgames wrote: Because of that, even though everyone was heaping praise on Witcher 3, I held off. But I finally took the plunge during gog.com's summer sale, and got the complete edition for $25. I've now sunk a couple of hours into it, and I think it's great. The graphics are awesome, the world is hyper detailed, and I think Geralt is a cool customer.


I thought that after 2 hours and for some hours thereafter. At some point, though, I just got tired of the busy-work. Gathering potion ingredients for the stuff you need. Trekking back out of dungeons to repair weapons and armour. Fiddling with the inventory system. None of that added anything to the game: in fact, it actively detracted from it.

The beginning of the end was the magical horse. I discovered that it wouldn't ride into even very shallow water. Yet if I swum to a small island and whistled, the horse would somehow appear. The final straw was having to wait overnight for a shop to open because the shopkeeper was in bed yet his small children stayed out playing in the yard all night long.

Sure, these are just game mechanics. But if you're going to allow stuff that obviously dumb, why make someone jump through irritating hoops like armour repair in the name of "gritty realism"?
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20 Jun 2017 07:10 - 20 Jun 2017 07:11 #250168 by JEM
Trying to break my Fallout 4 addiction, I started Forza Horizon 3. The first thing to note is that Microsoft's "Xbox on Windows" system is janky as hell. 1/3 of the settings are available in the XBox app, 1/3 need a visit to xbox.com, the other 1/3 onto microsoft.com.

Anyway, the game itself is fine, though the whole thing is very brah in its presentation. It's the first Horizon game I've played, and maybe I should have waited for the real Forza 7 but it's been years since I got into a decent racing game (Forza 4 was the best, outside of iRacing on the PC). It reminds me a lot of Test Drive Unlimited, with the cruise around stuff. It's weird seeing all these "Drivatars" which are like AI ghosts of other players from Xbox Live so I have ChknNuggetz950 and whoever else driving their Reliant van on the Surfer's Paradise strip.

It took a while (the opening of a second major venue) before I could buy a car that I actually wanted, as the game starts you off in some fast thing, so there's no sense of working your way up a quarter mile at a time. I enjoyed the exploration aspect of TDU and TDU 2, so FH3 seems good for that. I might see if there's a difficulty setting to remove the balsa wood trees and posts, though.
Last edit: 20 Jun 2017 07:11 by JEM.
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20 Jun 2017 11:53 #250182 by celticgriffon
After abstaining for years I finally got the kids an XBOX One S (at Christmas time). When i was watching YOUTUBE I stumbled upon some of the racing games and force feedback steering wheels...

In the name of science I decided to test out a wheel system. I purchased a Thrustmaster TX adding on a H pattern shifter. I also went for the T3PA pedal set. I added a GT Omega stand. Last week I ordered the rear seat frame and a racing seat; they should be here soon as there is a Canadian warehouse.

I have tried a bunch and own a bunch of the games available - F12015, F12016, Project Cars, Forza 5 and 6, Forza Horizon 3, Dirt Rally, Assetto Corsa, WRC 5, The Crew, and Nascar Heat Evolution.

I have now tried all the titles and here is a short synopsis:

F1 titles - love both. I enjoy the feel of the game and the races. But I love F1. I am still unsure how the various adjustments in the pits help or hinder things
Forza 5 and 6 - the cars tend to spin out too easily imo and once you spin the car always ends up facing the wrong direction. It takes a lot of practice and i still cannot recover from a spin. But I enjoy both titles. I really love some of the tracks. The scenery is great.
Dirt Rally - man this is tough but boy is it ever addicting. I wish thrustmaster/xbox would offer a dedicated port for a hand brake.
Project Cars and Assetto Corsa - I think both of these games have the best natural feel of how cars handle in my limited opinion. I find both titles the most relaxing and enjoy driving both titles.
Forza Horizon 3 - haven't played much but i am sure the above comments would apply
WRC 5 - yuck. I cannot drive this game correctly with my steering wheel, pedal, shifter setup. I think this game is controller only.
The Crew - yuck - I cannot complete missions within the time. I really think this game is controller only.
Nascar Heat Evolution - this is the title i wanted to like the most. The feedback is great on the corners. The physics of the game are absurd, however. A car will go into the grass, spin and then recover without any loss of speed. I don't know if this is people hacking the game, however. My left arm is sore after driving this game for a few hours.

I kind of would love to try the system on IRacing on my laptop, but unfortunately it freezes often. It is an Asus gaming laptop which was purchased in 2010. It is almost time to upgrade. I might bite the bullet at some point soon.

A funny story:

friend texts me around 9pm - "Hey Mike - what's up tonight - wanna play some games?" I am busy racing on the wheel and ignoring my phone.
I get the note the next morning and reply, "Sorry bud i was driving last night."
Friend - "No worries."
Me: - "Yeah, the new Maseratti handles like a dream. Wow."
Friend - "Did you win the lottery - how the hell?"
I guess you had to be there...

Michael
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20 Jun 2017 13:56 #250187 by RobertB
In Witcher III, I just stopped riding the horse. I don't think it gets you where you're going much faster than running, and like you said, it hangs up on terrain way too easily. As for alchemy materials, I just buy them off of that guy who says, "White wolf, wise wolf."

I liked Witcher III a lot, and finished the base game. But to me, the DLC quests have more talking than the base game, to the point of boredom. I thought the base game's dialog was really good, but the DLC so far has been kind of meh.

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20 Jun 2017 14:19 #250188 by JEM

celticgriffon wrote: I kind of would love to try the system on IRacing on my laptop, but unfortunately it freezes often. It is an Asus gaming laptop which was purchased in 2010. It is almost time to upgrade. I might bite the bullet at some point soon.


If Forza feels slippery, iRacing will feel like skating, but immensely rewarding especially with all the equipment you have.
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20 Jun 2017 19:09 - 20 Jun 2017 19:11 #250205 by Gary Sax
I bought civ 6 last week and I LOVE it. It does what no previous civ has done---make the player make a lot of important choices and cut in 2/3 (though not eliminate) the no brainers. Districts have been needed for a while. Synergizing in game activities with research boosts for specific techs is a brilliant idea. You can tell a boardgame guy was lead designer, Ed Beach.

AI still is iffy at best. There are SO many systems. I still don't quite understand a couple of the systems and they're underexplained, tourism in particular. But it's like someone listened to everything that makes me quit every civ game halfway through and made a game. Also, Sean Bean's narration and the script SUCKS compared to the perfect civ voice, Leonard Nimoy. I wonder if I can get a mod to bring in the Nimoy narration...?

It apparently wasn't received super well? I don't get it.
Last edit: 20 Jun 2017 19:11 by Gary Sax.

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26 Jun 2017 23:37 - 26 Jun 2017 23:38 #250477 by hotseatgames
Thanks to the steam summer sale, I've been playing quite a lot lately, with even more to come.
Witcher 3 - about 9 hours in, still greatly enjoying myself. Working on the Bloody Baron quest line now. Very neat.

Dying Light - Mirror's Edge + Dead Rising + Far Cry 3 + Condemned: Criminal Origins. A great formula, with zombies that are truly terrifying. You actually WANT to avoid combat in this game, but you are rewarded when you do it.

Hidden in Plain Sight - couch multiplayer, only $1.19 and well worth it if you have a few controllers. Various mini games involving trying to blend in with an AI crowd while trying to accomplish objectives. WAY more fun than my description.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes - Finally something to do with my Vive. This is neat, and really requires a cool head and clear communication abilities in order to describe either what you are seeing or how the defuser should go about his / her business.

Talisman - Horus Heresy - got it since it was $3. It's Relic, but distinctly themed around Horus Heresy. Between this, Talisman on Steam, and all of Relic the board game, I can't imagine needing any more of this in my life.
Last edit: 26 Jun 2017 23:38 by hotseatgames.

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27 Jun 2017 21:04 #250523 by Sevej
I've been playing Warlock - Master of the Arcane, which is pretty fucking awesome.

Basically this is one of Civ V's clones, but a few twist. At the surface, it appears like Civ V with fantasy setting. But really, there are some things that makes it much better than Civ V.

The most improvement over Civ V is the city building. First, the game doesn't hold you back from expanding. More cities is always good. Then, remember when you build a new city that needs 50 turns to build that much-needed Granary? Gone! All buildings and units have a flat building rate of 2-3 turns. Remember when everyone talks about city specialization in Civ but you wonder how that works at early game when you barely have any buildings? Gone! You can only build 1 building per 1000 pops, and they need an empty space (which may penalize or give bonus on that building based on type). Since this represents 1000 people working there, gone also the need to micromanage where your citizens work. Food are shared between cities, and excess food production *automatically* turns to gold (halved) since the beginning of the game. You also have buildings that can be repeatedly built (something like Civ's farms and mines), but also limited by population, so it doesn't feel like a lot of work even if you have a lot of cities, and does emphasize a city's specialization. Also, all buildings, that's placed on the map, are also roads which halve all movement cost throughout your empire. All of that allows you to focus on the military aspect of the game more.

And on the military... units feel a lot more mobile in this game. My basic rogue has 5 movement points, my warrior 3, and my archer 4, but they move through forest easily. This makes exploration fast and easy, and combat much less of a slog, even at the start of the game. The only slow unit is the settlers and my siege engines, which is very understandable and nothing a Windwalker or Haste spell can't fix.

One more thing to point out is "special resources", which is similar to Civ. The unique thing is that you can choose here, and 1 choice is unique to each race. For example there's Gem. You can mine theme, which gives you bunch of gold, or build a jewelry shop. Jewelry shop costs maintenance, but it allows your unit (for a modest amount of gold) to be equipped with amulets which grant then resistance to magic. Some resources grant units. For example the Minotaur Cave, you can build Minotaur Palace which gives you access to Minotaurs (and the stronger Black Minotaurs, once your city is large enough), or Minotaur Labyrinth, which (for a modest amount of gold) increases a unit's melee power considerably.

I'm very close to declaring this game as the millenial's Master of Magic, but it does have it flaws: lack of variation, and magic.

There's only four playable races (human, monsters, undead & elves), and quite a bit of monsters, but still far below MoM's.

There are only two kinds of magic: arcane and divine, which is further divided by deities. The deities are fun bit. Worshipping them allows more powerful spells, but pissing them off will cause the deity to spawn an Avatar, which if you beat you win the game. But the research system is atrocious. You are provided with 5 choices to research which are randomly selected. MoM did a similar thing, but if your wizard is a life magic he won't encounter a single death magic, or any other magic that he isn't learned in.

If you're looking for modern day MoM, this is a very, very good one.
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27 Jun 2017 21:24 #250524 by Gary Sax
Cool, maybe I'll check it out once I'm done with Civ 6.

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