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Mycelia 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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09 Feb 2017 18:16 #243727 by Black Barney
One time I ran out of money before the scope and had to a face a few with no scope , it was really scary. They chomp your neck when they get close doing a weird contortion thAt is very j-horror

I just went crazy with the striker shotgun and they eventually explode but yeah, those things are really scary. Their audio cues, breathing and music all help to set the mood

That and the dog garden are the scariest parts

Can't wait!

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09 Feb 2017 19:51 #243728 by Vlad
Barney, I liked RE4, it was almost as good as Watch Dogs 2.

Seriously though, I played it once and stopped shortly after getting on an island full of zombi soldiers, with guns. They kinda looked like Nazi zombies, too. Inexplicably, I lost the interest there and never recovered. I remember there was one exhilarating set-piece in the village towards the beginning of the game, very non-linear - played it like 10 or 15 times and the action always unfolded differently. But, to my disappointment, the rest of what I played felt pretty pedestrian in comparison and left very foggy memories.
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09 Feb 2017 21:47 #243731 by Black Barney
It was like unanimously game of the year

You were soooo close to the best part. That stupid island part is shortly followed by the lab. Super scary.

Maybe you will like WD2 in the end

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09 Feb 2017 23:48 #243737 by hotseatgames
Initial impressions of the For Honor beta:
I played the 4 on 4 (and AI) area control game, and that was pretty cool. You kill enemies and hold 3 control points.
There is a meta game faction war similar to the one that was in Mortal Kombat X. I don't really care about that stuff, but it's there for those who do.
Character customization seems pretty deep, and is only hinted at in the beta.
The one on one duel mode is really cool, and does in fact remind me of Rune, although in Rune you could throw things. I don't think you can do that in For Honor.
I haven't tried deathmatch, but will try to get to it tomorrow.
This might be the most gorgeous video game I've ever played.
There is a lot of server wonkiness going on, which isn't too surprising. Overall, I have a favorable opinion of this game so far.

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10 Feb 2017 12:03 - 10 Feb 2017 12:04 #243755 by Michael Barnes
I suppose I will write a little about Nioh even though there is no way you people would be interested in it what with all of the talk of Leather Goddess of Phobos going on here and all.

It took me about 25 tries to beat the first big boss. What carried the day, at last, was a classic Souls maneuver- "roll up and stab it in the ass".

There is no hiding it, denying it, or avoiding it- Nioh is 100% a Souls revision from another developer obviously very inspired by From's seminal work. I am sure that the folks at Team Ninja would straight up say "yes, we wanted to make a Souls game". There are things in it that are almost just like Souls, and I am pretty sure the entire opening section of the game is a tribute/parody with its dank, hopeless and crow-infested dungeon, polearms clanking against the walls, and beefeater hats. But once you get to Japan (the main character is English, there's a neat mix of Eastern/Western 17th century stuff here) it turns into something more. The gameplay is exactly what you would expect a Souls game made by people who made Ninja Gaiden to play. Meaning that it's fast, there are tons of Ninja/Samurai weapons, there's magic, and there are combos. There's even an "active reload" style Ki pulse thing that refills your stamina. It's still very methodical and you get those same kinds of situations where a low-level baddie will suddenly own your stupid ass because you weren't on point. But it is as aggressive as Bloodborne, but with possibly even more depth.

There is also some Bushido Blade in this game, which is a big surprise. It doesn't have the one-hit kills and all of that, but switching between three stances (high, medium, low) and the general feel of the fighting is similar. The loot system is much less obtuse/arcane, much closer to Diablo with item rarities coordinating to number of special abilities. And there like a billion times more drops than in a Souls game.

The Japanese setting, so far, is colorful, interesting and cool. It's based on a never-finished Kurosawa script apparently, but it has tons of Oni, Yokai and other supernatural elements.

I'm just about eight hours into it, but I'm going to say something possibly controversial. It may actually be a better game than the Souls titles. Maybe not better than Bloodborne. It really is as if Team Ninja smoothed over all of the rough, somewhat irritating edges and made a more accessible (but no less difficult) and more refined game. There is a list of things that I think are definitely better- like ranged combat, it's just a million times better. Item use is better. Stamina (Ki) is better. Inventory management is better. I really like the additional depth of branching skill trees for all of the weapon types and a familiarity rating that you earn with experience using EACH WEAPON, encouraging you to level up in using them rather than sticking to favorites. I also really love the title system, which gives you bonuses and additional unlocks as you complete achievement-like goals. I am also digging the fact that the game's levels are accessible on a mission map, not just on trudging through a huge, interconnected environment.

What this game lacks though is Souls' ruthlessly bleak, necrokvlt atmosphere and tone. The character and creature designs aren't nearly as awesome. It doesn't feel quite as singular. It won't ever escape the shadow of Souls and it will never be as significant, influential or as important as those games have been.

But it is awesome. As somebody that loves both From's stuff as well as ridiculous, over-the-top Japanese brawlers, I couldn't really be happier with making a Monday night impulse purchase on this one.

But it also doesn't feel as oppressive.
Last edit: 10 Feb 2017 12:04 by Michael Barnes.
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10 Feb 2017 12:10 #243756 by jeb
I like the stance idea a LOT. From my reading, the game turns on this balance of High Stance to wade through weenies, but you'd better be Low Stance on the bosses or you'll get smacked. I might actually buy a real game soon! Last one was OVERWATCH, and I'm pretty sure that was a gift from a friend at Blizzard. Does PICROSS 3D 2 count as a real game?

NIOH and/or WATCH DOGS 2, here I come!

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10 Feb 2017 14:37 #243762 by hotseatgames
I saw some video from Nioh and it was refreshing to see a game like Souls that isn't all grey and black.

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10 Feb 2017 15:17 #243766 by Black Barney
i'm desperately trying to talk my best friend out of buying it cuz he was JUST about to start RE4 for the very first time! We were going to play it together. And now this stupid PS4 game might ruins'd everything

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10 Feb 2017 20:11 #243775 by Vlad
I'm going to side with you in this one, Barney.
If your friend is new to Soulsborne genre and Nioh is his first entry in it, he's just a... he is wrong, OK, just wrong. This should not be his first choice.
If he is not new to Soulsborne, well... Nioh is still derivative, while RE4 is (was) a fucking game-changer. You kind of need to play it, even if it is just for your video game education. Even though I still think it wasted a lot of potential.

On the other hand, if you have played all Souls games, and you get that itch when Nioh is mentioned... no amount of Resident Evil is going to scratch it.
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10 Feb 2017 22:05 #243778 by Vlad
Now about Nioh itself, because that's what I really want to talk about.

So far, I got to the first real boss, and ended the session throwing the controller in rage (strategically on the couch next to me) after 15th attempt to defeat the bastard.

The game looks a lot like Dark Souls 2 on PS4. The fact that the opening village is very reminiscent of the No Man's Wharf doesn't help either. Actually, wife asked me if that was some Japan-oriented DLC for it. So, in terms of graphics it is one step behind Bloodborne and DS3, doesn't feel as "weighty" and so far I was not impressed by the art direction (just like DS2) - except for the aforementioned boss, who looked (and fought) better than any boss in DS2. But runs on a steady 60ftp (there's an option for better graphics and slower frame rate, but I doubt I'll even try it). On the other hand, the speed of fighting is similar to Bloodborne.

Like Barnes said, some things feel much better than Souls on the first glance. Ranged weapons have a good feel to them, are seamless to use and cause a lot more damage. The stamina is also more prominent. I don't remember watching my stamina gauge in any souls game as I did with Nioh. And the enemies have it, too - you see their stamina meter just like their health and it plays very nicely into the duels. I have played and finished all Souls games, most more than once, and I still can't say for sure that any enemies had their own stamina bar. So, yeah, the importance of stamina is more immediate and makes the fights more strategic. Another surprise was that the opposition felt more reactive and intelligent than in souls. Like even the basic guys try to dodge you, and block more than in Souls.
As for stances, I'm still not sold on them. They are very different, sure, but they also add a layer of complexity that I'm not sure yet is necessary. The jury is out.
Diablo-like loot is nice, and activates those pleasure centers in your brain that somehow know that yellow color is better than white but worse than purple.

The first serious level was cool in terms of design, with the typical shortcuts and kick-able ladders, but there's practically nothing I haven't seen in a souls game. As far as I understand, the world is not seamless either.

But the biggest offender an is the lack of multiplayer options. There's no real PvP nor invasions. No messages. I read that co-op is only available if the helping player has already completed the level. Souls games are still alive thanks to their multiplayer community. If Nioh is not patched up with a meaningful multiplayer and soon, i am afraid it will be forgotten in a matter of weeks.

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