A Key to the Arcade on the corner

The Batlord · 10-31-2019, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Key

Great games come out that meat game of the year expectations

Key · 11-03-2019, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

Or hey how bout not pointing out every little spelling error in my own personal journal. thanks. take that elsewhere.

The Batlord · 11-03-2019, 04:18 PM

This is a video game journal, you tampon.

Key · 11-10-2019, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

This is a video game journal, you tampon.

It's my own personal video game journal.

The Batlord · 11-10-2019, 12:33 PM

It's a journal, not a diary.

Black Francis · 11-10-2019, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Key

As the image would suggest, I have been playing Diablo III on PS4 for the past week or so, and it's been such a joy that I felt it was necessary to talk about it here. As a whole, I have a pretty good understanding of the dungeon crawling genre as a whole. Path of Exile is certainly up there with being one of the best, I've put my fair share of time into it. Diablo III still has that special charm that brings me back time and time again though.

The character I have now is a class I've never played. Demon Hunter. Really fun messing with the range style abilities and seeing what damage can be dealt. And I gotta say, my character is an absolute powerhouse. I've playing on the Hard difficulty for now until I unlock the harder difficulties.

I decided to get Diablo III on PS4 for two reasons. One, I really wanted to play Diablo III again, but I didn't really feel like sitting at my computer. So, I just bought it on PS4 and couch sat for hours. The second reason is...well, it's Diablo III. Why not? Been having a great time so far.

What I love the most about the PS4 version right now is the fact that the abilities are mapped to the buttons on the controller. Feels far more seemless than trying to map the keys properly on a keyboard. Much easier on the hands as well. Much less strain trying to press certain buttons or working your hands on odd ways.

That's basically it really. Been playing Diablo III on PS4 and it's been a joy. Gonna keep playing too. The character I'm playing right now is probably my favorite character I've ever made in Diablo III.

Nice. I was hooked on this game for like a month. I heard some diablo fans dont count diablo 3 and are expecting diablo 4 to redeem the series. They loved diablo 2 so much but i only played 3 so idk what they on about.

Things is tho ive tried playin diablo 3 again a little while ago and i was so frickin lost on what to do. Somehow i wiped out of my head all the sht i went thru so i moved on to path of exile which i was told is a better game but for some reason it didnt hook me in like diablo 3

Key · 11-20-2019, 12:46 AM

Jedi Fallen Order [First Impressions]

I'll admit, back when this game was very first teased with only the title, I was sort of laughing at EA because there wasn't even a beacon of hope that they would pull something off as defining as a Star Wars single player experience. We've got games like Knights of the Old Republic and Force Unleashed that give that experience very well in many ways. So to even think there would be a potential repeat of that coming from EA, it just seemed unlikely.

But then you also go through the realization of knowing that Respawn is the one developing the game. EA is only publishing. We as fans were sincerely hoping that this game would not have any kind of money grabbing schemes. And EA made sure to let fans know early on that there will be absolutely no microtransactions or money grabs of any kind. At this point I'm cautiously optimistic because it's still hard to say whether or not there was a chance that they knew what they were doing and if they were just letting Respawn do their thing. The hope was that Respawn was able to just do the development side and just take care of that. With titles like Titanfall and Apex Legends on their resume, you'd understand that people were expecting something great.

Then you come to the release date, and simultaneously I got my deluxe edition copy because I had preordered it months prior. And let me just say this as clearly as I can. They did a ****ing unbelievably good job on Jedi Fallen Order. From the world building to the lightsaber combat, it all feels so fluid and nice that it really feels like you're playing as a Jedi. The combat is surprisingly tactical, but it's oh so satisfying once you get it figured out. Just takes practice. Graphics are pretty phenomenal. You'll see things in the background that will take your breath away. Like a Starfighter crashed in the ground behind you, etc etc.

People have been making the comparison to Dark Souls / Bloodborne / Sekiro, and I wholeheartedly agree. The game is tough. Especially if you're playing on the harder difficulty. The way you move around and the platforming are very reminiscent of Middle Earth: Shadow of War and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. It takes a lot of inspiration and it throws it together in a wonderfully told story in the Star Wars universe.

I've so far put about 5 hours into the game, and I've had a blast the whole way through. The way the world builds upon itself. The way the story is told. The characters you meet. It's everything I was hoping the game would be. And the best thing about it. There's absolutely no microsactions or money grabs whatsoever. EA basically gave this one to Respawn and said "Hey, we'll publish this. Just make a great game." And god damn they did.

It's always nice when a game turns out as good as you wanted it to, if not better. I'm still playing through the game so there may be another review. So far, it's great.

Key · 05-30-2020, 01:52 PM

Minecraft Dungeons

Minecraft Dungeons is one of those experiences that hits you in the right spots right off the bat that it's nearly impossible to not want to continue forward past the tutorial. As can be evident, I'm going to be talking about Minecraft Dungeons.

At this point, I feel like I've put rough 13-15 hours into the game, and I've experienced a lot of what the game has to offer. It's strengths, it's weaknesses. Overall however, the game gets a solid recommendation from me for a few simple reasons:

First and foremost, the game is fun. It's accessible, it's not terribly difficult (more on that later), and artistically, it's really nice to look at. For that reason alone, I'd already give it my full recommendation. This game pushes to fit in with games like Diablo and Path of Exile, and much like those games, it takes what makes a dungeon crawler fun and playable, and still makes it it's own thing. Yes, it's Minecraft. And yes, it's a dungeon crawler. But it's very much it's own thing in respect to its theme and overall style.

Secondly, missions. I really like the setup of having a base camp and being able to select missions that you want to do. In whatever order you choose to do them. The added thing that's really nice, especially for people who are used to games like Diablo, is that you can choose up to 6 different difficulties. The difficulty scales with what your power level is at that time. You can choose to grind lower difficulties to be better at the tougher ones, or you can take it slow and attempt the higher difficulties, yielding really great loot early on. I've done both tactics and both come with their advantages and disadvantages respectively. But both are solid tactics. Just whatever fits your play style.

Thirdly and potentially most importantly, the multiplayer. It works. And it works really well, for the most part. Minus a few latency issues, I've been playing with my brother on Xbox Live and I've seen little to no problems regarding connection and playing together. The game doesn't force you to be together all the time. You can split up and take on the missions as you want to, then meet up later. Or you can just do it together. Again, really up to what your play style is.

When I first heard that there was going to be a dungeon crawler style game based on Minecraft, I was skeptical. But also excited. It's very nice that I can safely say that this game exceeded my expectations. They did a really really nice job with it, and there are more updates to come. A really nice surprise and something I will be putting most of my time into for a while.

Key · 06-14-2020, 07:58 PM

What I've Been Playing

Whether it's a result of so many god damn good sales going on, or just having the accessibility to play a lot of games (i.e. PC and console), I've definitely been trying out more games than I have in quite some time. And I want to talk a little bit about each of them.

Starting off...

Thief

It shouldn't be too much of a surprise that I am enjoying this game given that I have a huge liking for stealth style games. And this one is very reminiscent of Dishonored, and I absolutely loved that game for everything it had to offer. The more I play Thief, the more I see that it is sort of the predecessor to Dishonored, as it does a lot of the same things. Feels really good to play, and the overall atmosphere is really well done as well. The game certainly shows its again with the dialogue and characters, etc. But the gameplay is really fun. Plus, I picked it up for $1.99 on PS4, so...can't really complain.

Next up...

Undertale

After putting this game off for so long, I finally decided to pick it up and give it some of my time. And my god I'm glad I did. Right from the get go, I can understand why this game deserves as much hype as it does. Not only is the writing really well done, but the characters and the overall feel of the game really does itself justice. While it's known that the graphics aren't that great, it really doesn't deter me from playing more. In fact, I find that the graphics really add a lot to the world, and allows for the narrative to sort of take over. The dialogue between characters is fantastic. The combat system is not like any I've ever experienced before. I've gotten a couple hours into it already, and I'm having an absolute blast. I can't wait to finish it.

Hades

This game has been in early access for a while, but it didn't make its way to Steam until recently. And naturally, I had to pick it up. I've known of the existence of this game for months prior to it being on Steam, but I don't want dive into the Epic Store to play it. I don't need another platform when Steam does plenty for me. Basically, think Dead Cells meets Diablo. The graphics are super stylish. The gameplay is really fun. The combat is super responsive and fun. The only gripe I have so far is that the character you play is speaks dialogue throughout the runs. And while it's not a deterrent, I generally prefer a silent protagonist in my rogue likes. Again, this doesn't keep me from playing, but it definitely adds something extra that I'd rather not have. Luckily you can turn the voice volume off and it basically fixes that issue.

And while I've been enjoying the new stuff, I've also been putting some time into Fallout 4.

Already having a little over 100 hours in the game, I keep finding reasons to go back and play it. It's become that game where if I need something to take up some time, and I don't really feel like jumping into anything else, I'll typically go to Fallout 4. And if that doesn't work, Skyrim is usually the next option. I've been having an absolute blast playing Fallout lately though, because there are still so many places I haven't explored yet. I've already completed the game's main story, and finished Far Harbor. I'm in the middle of finishing the Nuka World DLC. And all the while, I'm going around the Commonwealth and exploring every building I can, and finding every set of power armor I can find. And on top of all that, the game has mods. And some of them are amazing. Like...new weapons, new kinds of companions, new areas to explore. Basically if you run out of stuff to do, you can add more.

And of course if that isn't enough, I will generally pull out Old School Runescape on my surface or phone and have it playing in the background when I'm making music, or working on something work related. Just been doing a ton of fishing. Here are my current stats in case you're interested:

The Batlord · 06-15-2020, 07:46 AM

I heard that Thief reboot was a poor man's Dishonoures so I passed on it but I played the **** out of the Thief 2 demo back in high school. Wish I'd copped it when I still had a computer.

11-20-2019, 12:46 AM	#137 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Jedi Fallen Order [First Impressions] I'll admit, back when this game was very first teased with only the title, I was sort of laughing at EA because there wasn't even a beacon of hope that they would pull something off as defining as a Star Wars single player experience. We've got games like Knights of the Old Republic and Force Unleashed that give that experience very well in many ways. So to even think there would be a potential repeat of that coming from EA, it just seemed unlikely. But then you also go through the realization of knowing that Respawn is the one developing the game. EA is only publishing. We as fans were sincerely hoping that this game would not have any kind of money grabbing schemes. And EA made sure to let fans know early on that there will be absolutely no microtransactions or money grabs of any kind. At this point I'm cautiously optimistic because it's still hard to say whether or not there was a chance that they knew what they were doing and if they were just letting Respawn do their thing. The hope was that Respawn was able to just do the development side and just take care of that. With titles like Titanfall and Apex Legends on their resume, you'd understand that people were expecting something great. Then you come to the release date, and simultaneously I got my deluxe edition copy because I had preordered it months prior. And let me just say this as clearly as I can. They did a ****ing unbelievably good job on Jedi Fallen Order. From the world building to the lightsaber combat, it all feels so fluid and nice that it really feels like you're playing as a Jedi. The combat is surprisingly tactical, but it's oh so satisfying once you get it figured out. Just takes practice. Graphics are pretty phenomenal. You'll see things in the background that will take your breath away. Like a Starfighter crashed in the ground behind you, etc etc. People have been making the comparison to Dark Souls / Bloodborne / Sekiro, and I wholeheartedly agree. The game is tough. Especially if you're playing on the harder difficulty. The way you move around and the platforming are very reminiscent of Middle Earth: Shadow of War and Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. It takes a lot of inspiration and it throws it together in a wonderfully told story in the Star Wars universe. I've so far put about 5 hours into the game, and I've had a blast the whole way through. The way the world builds upon itself. The way the story is told. The characters you meet. It's everything I was hoping the game would be. And the best thing about it. There's absolutely no microsactions or money grabs whatsoever. EA basically gave this one to Respawn and said "Hey, we'll publish this. Just make a great game." And god damn they did. It's always nice when a game turns out as good as you wanted it to, if not better. I'm still playing through the game so there may be another review. So far, it's great.

05-30-2020, 01:52 PM	#138 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Minecraft Dungeons Minecraft Dungeons is one of those experiences that hits you in the right spots right off the bat that it's nearly impossible to not want to continue forward past the tutorial. As can be evident, I'm going to be talking about Minecraft Dungeons. At this point, I feel like I've put rough 13-15 hours into the game, and I've experienced a lot of what the game has to offer. It's strengths, it's weaknesses. Overall however, the game gets a solid recommendation from me for a few simple reasons: First and foremost, the game is fun. It's accessible, it's not terribly difficult (more on that later), and artistically, it's really nice to look at. For that reason alone, I'd already give it my full recommendation. This game pushes to fit in with games like Diablo and Path of Exile, and much like those games, it takes what makes a dungeon crawler fun and playable, and still makes it it's own thing. Yes, it's Minecraft. And yes, it's a dungeon crawler. But it's very much it's own thing in respect to its theme and overall style. Secondly, missions. I really like the setup of having a base camp and being able to select missions that you want to do. In whatever order you choose to do them. The added thing that's really nice, especially for people who are used to games like Diablo, is that you can choose up to 6 different difficulties. The difficulty scales with what your power level is at that time. You can choose to grind lower difficulties to be better at the tougher ones, or you can take it slow and attempt the higher difficulties, yielding really great loot early on. I've done both tactics and both come with their advantages and disadvantages respectively. But both are solid tactics. Just whatever fits your play style. Thirdly and potentially most importantly, the multiplayer. It works. And it works really well, for the most part. Minus a few latency issues, I've been playing with my brother on Xbox Live and I've seen little to no problems regarding connection and playing together. The game doesn't force you to be together all the time. You can split up and take on the missions as you want to, then meet up later. Or you can just do it together. Again, really up to what your play style is. When I first heard that there was going to be a dungeon crawler style game based on Minecraft, I was skeptical. But also excited. It's very nice that I can safely say that this game exceeded my expectations. They did a really really nice job with it, and there are more updates to come. A really nice surprise and something I will be putting most of my time into for a while.

06-14-2020, 07:58 PM	#139 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	What I've Been Playing Whether it's a result of so many god damn good sales going on, or just having the accessibility to play a lot of games (i.e. PC and console), I've definitely been trying out more games than I have in quite some time. And I want to talk a little bit about each of them. Starting off... Thief It shouldn't be too much of a surprise that I am enjoying this game given that I have a huge liking for stealth style games. And this one is very reminiscent of Dishonored, and I absolutely loved that game for everything it had to offer. The more I play Thief, the more I see that it is sort of the predecessor to Dishonored, as it does a lot of the same things. Feels really good to play, and the overall atmosphere is really well done as well. The game certainly shows its again with the dialogue and characters, etc. But the gameplay is really fun. Plus, I picked it up for $1.99 on PS4, so...can't really complain. Next up... Undertale After putting this game off for so long, I finally decided to pick it up and give it some of my time. And my god I'm glad I did. Right from the get go, I can understand why this game deserves as much hype as it does. Not only is the writing really well done, but the characters and the overall feel of the game really does itself justice. While it's known that the graphics aren't that great, it really doesn't deter me from playing more. In fact, I find that the graphics really add a lot to the world, and allows for the narrative to sort of take over. The dialogue between characters is fantastic. The combat system is not like any I've ever experienced before. I've gotten a couple hours into it already, and I'm having an absolute blast. I can't wait to finish it. Hades This game has been in early access for a while, but it didn't make its way to Steam until recently. And naturally, I had to pick it up. I've known of the existence of this game for months prior to it being on Steam, but I don't want dive into the Epic Store to play it. I don't need another platform when Steam does plenty for me. Basically, think Dead Cells meets Diablo. The graphics are super stylish. The gameplay is really fun. The combat is super responsive and fun. The only gripe I have so far is that the character you play is speaks dialogue throughout the runs. And while it's not a deterrent, I generally prefer a silent protagonist in my rogue likes. Again, this doesn't keep me from playing, but it definitely adds something extra that I'd rather not have. Luckily you can turn the voice volume off and it basically fixes that issue. And while I've been enjoying the new stuff, I've also been putting some time into Fallout 4. Already having a little over 100 hours in the game, I keep finding reasons to go back and play it. It's become that game where if I need something to take up some time, and I don't really feel like jumping into anything else, I'll typically go to Fallout 4. And if that doesn't work, Skyrim is usually the next option. I've been having an absolute blast playing Fallout lately though, because there are still so many places I haven't explored yet. I've already completed the game's main story, and finished Far Harbor. I'm in the middle of finishing the Nuka World DLC. And all the while, I'm going around the Commonwealth and exploring every building I can, and finding every set of power armor I can find. And on top of all that, the game has mods. And some of them are amazing. Like...new weapons, new kinds of companions, new areas to explore. Basically if you run out of stuff to do, you can add more. And of course if that isn't enough, I will generally pull out Old School Runescape on my surface or phone and have it playing in the background when I'm making music, or working on something work related. Just been doing a ton of fishing. Here are my current stats in case you're interested: