Travis The Dragon
AFTERGLOW!!!
I found this very interesting item in Breath Of The Wild that some of you just might recognize!
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- Thread starter Onhell
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Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
Funny you should mention Breath of the Wild, as I've been playing it for weeks. After finishing Metroid Prime remastered (one of my favorite games of all time), I decided to start Breath of the Wild for the third time. I had attempted it before but never got far beyond the starting area due to boredom. Now I have 70 something shrines conquered and all four divine beasts reclaimed, and while I'm obviously loving it, I can't help but feel that the world is simply too large. I like open world games, but there's only so many open fields and mountains that I can take. It reaches a point where the game just feels empty. I never felt this way with open world games like Fallout and Skyrim, so I don't know what it is here.
Other than that, I'm beyond pumped for the Resident Evil 4 remake in a few weeks. Resident Evil is my favorite game series, and 4 is legendary. I can only hope that Capcom keeps much of Leon's hilariously awful dialogue in the remake.
Other than that, I'm beyond pumped for the Resident Evil 4 remake in a few weeks. Resident Evil is my favorite game series, and 4 is legendary. I can only hope that Capcom keeps much of Leon's hilariously awful dialogue in the remake.
I'm an Xbox guy so I haven't experienced them in VR, but I loved Village. As for 7, not so much (although I've heard that as a horror game it's much stronger in VR). Village is more action-packed like 4 was, so I'm not sure that VR would do much to enhance it. The game is more about the scenery and exploration as opposed to the straightforward horror movie quality of 7.
I played through the original RE4 late last year, not knowing a remake was in the works. Not sure if it really needs a remake tbh, the game felt really fresh to me, having never played it before. Was really impressed with it.
I just got finished with Octopath Traveler, just in time for a sequel. Great throwback JRPG that doesn't reinvent the wheel but takes the great elements of games from the past to create a really solid experience. My only two real complaints:
On the plus side, one thing I was impressed with was that the end game managed to throw in some new elements and abilities to keep things fresh. I was starting to feel some monotony by the final chapters, but there are a lot of upgrades that allow you to have fun with the teams and create some new strategies.
I just got finished with Octopath Traveler, just in time for a sequel. Great throwback JRPG that doesn't reinvent the wheel but takes the great elements of games from the past to create a really solid experience. My only two real complaints:
The difficulty curve is super messed up. You have 8 characters and can complete their stories in any order, but realistically you need to complete the same chapter for each character before doing a new chapter (i.e. you need to do each character's "chapter one" before doing anybody's "chapter two." I'm good with all that, but I fell into a pretty clear pattern of getting crushed by the boss of whoever's first chapter I attempted, grinded and bought equipment to defeat that boss, and then by the time I'm at the 3rd or 4th character's chapter, my characters are so OP that they destroy all other bosses without much strategy. I think the relative non-linearity doesn't quite work as a result of this.
None of the 8 characters' stories are linked. There's a final final boss that throws in some lore about the world and connects the characters a bit, but I hope the sequel integrates the stories a bit more from the beginning. It doesn't even really seem like the story is aware that each character is traveling with seven other people.
None of the 8 characters' stories are linked. There's a final final boss that throws in some lore about the world and connects the characters a bit, but I hope the sequel integrates the stories a bit more from the beginning. It doesn't even really seem like the story is aware that each character is traveling with seven other people.
On the plus side, one thing I was impressed with was that the end game managed to throw in some new elements and abilities to keep things fresh. I was starting to feel some monotony by the final chapters, but there are a lot of upgrades that allow you to have fun with the teams and create some new strategies.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
It's interesting -- I've always felt like RE4 was overrated, but RE5 and RE6 were underrated. The controls in RE4 were still a little too tanky and clunky for my taste, and I was kind of tired of the game by the 20 hour mark or so, but it went on for another 5 hours after that. RE5 streamlined the controls a bit, and the co-op added a lot of flavor to the game -- I played the crap out of that one. RE6 had a kitchen sink problem, but I appreciated its ambition, and its attempt to have the Leon sections be more horror, the Chris sections be more action, and then adding the Jake sections with the new melee focus. And the ability to invade other people's single-player games Dark Souls style and play as a zombie dog was hilarious.
I've read differing reviews on Village's VR mode. Some said they thought the original flat screen version wasn't scary and it was kind of a middling shooter, but VR gave it a lot more appeal and completely revitalized their impression of the game. Others said they felt it was obvious that the game wasn't designed with VR in mind, so there are a lot of design choices that work against VR (rapid turning and running, a lot of involuntary body movement during cut scenes, etc.), and it made them feel nauseated. For me, as long as I can use pie turning instead of smooth turning I should be fine with nausea. And I'm interested to see how they've implemented the hand controls, since they punted on that with RE7 and made you use the controller instead.
I'm getting near the end of Horizon: Call Of The Mountain, and I think I'll finish that up before I start on Village. But I'm looking forward to it.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
A lot of Resident Evil fans - including myself - originally didn't think that RE4 needed a remake and would have preferred one to be made of Code Veronica (a game that was excellent at the time but truly needs a remake now). However, after seeing the trailers and gameplay thus far, I think the RE4 remake looks amazing. The original indeed does hold up in all ways other than graphics and controls; I actually just played through it last week and had a blast with the gameplay and Leon's hilarious one-liners. But RE4 is revered by the gaming industry, and Capcom knows that a remake will rake in the dough.
A lot of fans are speculating that RE5 will be the next game to receive the remake treatment, but due to the current social and political state of the world, I don't think Capcom will touch that with a 40-foot pole.
I mostly feel the exact opposite. RE4 definitely had a few weaknesses, including stiff controls, a mostly drab color palette, and a story that put it on par with Super Mario. But it was purely single-player, contained bucket loads of entertainment, and wasn't entirely a straight line like its sequels were. As a fan of the series since 1997, RE5 and especially RE6 moved so far away from the core of the series that if not for the characters I wouldn't even know that they were Resident Evil. I can give RE5 a pass for its story that heavily featured elements of the series' mythology, but RE6 is a game that I find has next to zero redeeming qualities - most of which I think are too numerous to list here. But I will say that I think Jake is one of the worst characters in the franchise and that I don't believe melee combat to the degree that he used it have any place in Resident Evil. I also can't forget that the game's entire narrative is based upon a US government official causing a global pandemic because he had a crush on Ada. I mean, you can't find a worse plot than that.
I should also mention that I believe co-op in a "horror" game no longer makes it a horror game. Yes, RE4 was not a horror game, either, but it had an ominous atmosphere that bright sunny Africa lacked and some enemies that were truly frightening. Nothing is as terrifying with a buddy (real or AI) as it is in single-player.
Have you played the Revelations games by chance? The first one is cheesy but is arguably my favorite Resident Evil game to be released from the era between RE4 and the RE2 remake. The second one isn't as high quality, but has a more horror-centric atmosphere than anything since pre-RE4 at that point (it was released in 2015, two years before RE7, which is arguably the most horrific game in the franchise).
While RE7 and Village share the same perspective and main character, they are fundamentally so different that it's hard for me to play them back-to-back. The former is a tried-and-true horror game, which benefitted greatly from VR. The latter is an adventure game that is more like a shooter than RE7 was, and has dashes of horror sprinkled in here and there. The base gameplay of Village is more like RE4 in that you upgrade weapons, have a grid inventory, and can purchase items from a merchant. While I don't think this gameplay style is the best for Resident Evil, preferring the more survival horror-ish nature of the RE2 remake, there's no doubt that it's fun and contains tons of replay value. Let me know what you think of Village when you play it!
JudasMyGuide
The resident reactionary recalcitrant
That said, that one part in Village is scarier than anything in 7, maybe the series as a whole, even.
Pity it's the only one.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
I agree, and I think it is the scariest moment in the series. It comes out of nowhere and despite the gameplay being quite different than the rest of the game, I rarely tire of it on repeat plays. The atmosphere in that location is unmatched, and my only complaint is that I wish that particular villain was explored a bit more.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
True. RE5 and RE6 were action games that had a few spooky and gory parts.
I have not. I’ve played RE 4 through 7, and I played through some of Code: Veronica on the Dreamcast back in the day, up to the point where I was in some submarine base or something. I don’t recall why I stopped.
Well, I just played through the tutorial and about an hour of the main game (I got through the first barricaded house fight and then got owned when all the werewolf dudes rushed me in the next house), and it’s pretty fucking intense in VR. Definitely scary.
Aside from the inventory screen, everything is mapped physically to your body, so you grab weapons and items from your hip, or over the shoulder, or you have to pull open your jacket to grab something from inside. For guns you have to load the magazine or shells and cock the gun before you can start shooting, which makes in-combat reloads a scary proposition. The knife is easy to grab and stab, or just repeatedly throw, and you can always fall back on punching and blocking if you must.
The tutorial lets you try out a few different gun types, and aiming feels great once you tell the game which eye is your dominant eye. Looking down the sights is very natural, as is using the scope on the sniper rifle. And having to cock the shotgun after each shot makes using it very visceral, even if most shotguns don’t actually make you do that in real life. There are some accessibility options to simplify the reloading actions if they become too cumbersome, but I want to try it as intended first.
So far I agree with all of the review comments I’ve read, both positive and negative. The game in VR is scary and engaging, and it looks fantastic. It also has a lot of VR cut scenes with involuntary head motion in them, which is a comfort no-no, though nothing’s made me feel pukey yet. And the items in the environment that you can directly interact with using your hands are few and far between, though all of your own items are fully manipulable.
A very strong first impression for sure.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
I love the story and setting of Code Veronica, but it was a difficult game. There is only one difficulty level, and ammo conservation is an absolute must. Where you stopped is relatively early in the game (it's a much longer game than the previous entries to that point), but if you finish it I find that it's a very satisfying conclusion from a gameplay perspective.
Glad you're liking Village in VR. Regarding VR, part of me is kicking my own ass that I chose Series X over PS5, but I've exclusively been an Xbox guy since 360 due to the more comfortable controller and have too many backwards compatible games that I often revisit to have justified a PS5 purchase. But since I heard VII was pants-pissingly scary in VR and because I desperately want to play The Last of Us and the Silent Hill 2 remake, I may splurge for a PS5 eventually.
The RE4 remake demo was released on Thursday and I'm loving every second of it. Since you played the original, I'm curious as to your thoughts. I find the atmosphere to be incredible, even as a massive fan of the original and all of its glorious cheesy dialogue. The environments look outstanding.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Well, I’ve still got my Dreamcast in a box somewhere, and my TV still has a component input, so you never know!
I’ve now gotten into the early part of the castle (just past the part with the hooks), and that whole sequence where you have to run in handcuffs was nuts, and the “up close and personal” parts with the main antagonists also made an impact. Even the earlier bit where you’re just creeping through the tall grass while the wind is making things rustle and you know there are bad guys somewhere in there was really creepy. I can see how a lot of this wouldn’t have necessarily been scary on a flat screen, but it’s been nonstop tension in VR. And the visual fidelity on PSVR2 continues to impress.
The PS5 is a really good value if you like Sony exclusives, and the fact that the entire PS4 and PS5 libraries are available to you gives you a lot of options. Even just for VR, a PS5 + PSVR2 setup costs about the same as a high-end PC VR headset alone, and the quality is similar, so it’s hard to argue with that.
I haven’t tried it yet, but they’ve confirmed PSVR2 support is coming as free DLC in the near future, and that would obviously be transformative for the game. I’d probably buy the remake just for VR support, even though I was less enthusiastic about the original game.
Detective Beauregard
Leviathan of Doggerland
@Jer , have you beaten Village yet? The early parts sound fantastic in VR, and I’m sure you’ll like the next major part after the castle.
I haven’t even touched another game since the RE4 remake was released. It’s incredible. Somehow Capcom managed to keep the fun factor of the original and even add some new and improved sections. I highly recommend it!
Have you played any of the older games in the series?
I haven’t even touched another game since the RE4 remake was released. It’s incredible. Somehow Capcom managed to keep the fun factor of the original and even add some new and improved sections. I highly recommend it!
Code Veronica is one of the last old-school Resident Evil games, and for that reason I hold it in pretty high regard. Great atmosphere, too. If you play it, you’ll have to get used to the tank controls, though.
Have you played any of the older games in the series?
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Got delayed by a bout of COVID and some international travel, but I’ll get back to it early next week. I had just gotten to the part where all of my items were taken away and I’d finished inspecting the doll and opening the combo lock on the door there.
chaosapiant
Ancient Marinade
Those are two way different games. If you’re looking for real time strategy, go Age of Empires 2. For turn based, and possibly a gateway into grand strategy, try Civilization 6.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Finally got a chance to make some good progress on this. Not done yet, but I'm in the middle of Heisenberg's factory now, which looks great.
The Dollmaker's house was effectively creepy, though finding all those mini-closets you could hide in pretty heavily telegraphed that you would be stalked through the basement later on. Still, the nature of that threat was pretty disturbing, and hiding under the bed to get away from the hideous baby thing was really effective in VR.
The Moreau section worked well too. The cave area was creepy, and the claustrophobic fights against the large group of lycans, then Moreau himself, were appropriately tense. The cocking and reloading actions in VR really ramp up the tension if you're not staying on top of your ammo management. The timing-dependent parts of the watery area weren't an impediment in VR, thankfully, because pie turning with a quick 180 turn option, plus "click to run", makes navigation pretty snappy.
The fight against the cannibal at the mill was a little disappointing because it was so easy to cheese. I sniped the guy from the entry door, then easily left through the same door when he'd come over to retaliate. Rinse and repeat. I did feel a little dirty exiting through his slaughterhouse, though, picking up meat of unknown provenance on the way...LOL.
I approached the stronghold slowly and carefully, so it wasn't too bad; though having those flaming arrows fly past my head and stick in the wood next to me was pretty fucking effective in VR, I must say. And I still got overwhelmed a few times, trying to snipe one dude while another would pop out nearby from an unfortunate angle, etc. The cramped fight against the head Lycan also wasn't too bad because I made judicious use of mines, and when all else failed I used my saved-up magnum bullets to finish the job.
I managed to find all the rare animals on my own, so now I chuckle every time I come upon a picture clue for where to find them. I've also made all the enhancement recipes now except for one, where I still need 2 more fish from somewhere. And I've gotten all the treasures on the map except for the Dollmaker's grave, where I can see the item I need behind what appears to be an unopenable gate, but I have no idea how to get to it, even though I've returned to that spot every chance I've gotten.
The game has remained consistently creepy and tense, though the literal scare factor has gone down as the quality of my arsenal has gone up. One thing that surprised me a bit was that even though I've bought every inventory upgrade as soon as it's been available, I've still had some capacity problems, and I've even had to sell a couple of weapons to create enough space to function well. Some of that was due to game meat collection, and some due to excessive ammo at times. I'm guessing I'll be fine after the most recent inventory upgrade in the factory, since I'm mostly done collecting meat and I have a good core set of weapons that are mostly maxed out now.
I also haven't used dual wielding much, if at all. When I first got the second handgun I loaded myself out for dual wielding, but given the limited supply of ammo and the awkwardness of trying to reload when both hands are occupied, it wound up making more sense to use my extra hand to steady the gun and take more precise shots. And once my arsenal expanded more, I really needed to use every weapon slot for a different type of weapon, rather than complementary dual-wielding weapons.
One other minor nitpick, for some reason VR mode doesn't trigger any of the game's trophies. I don't really care about that sort of thing, but it's weird to be so far into the game and still have the trophy meter at 0%. But otherwise it's continued to be a great experience, and a true must-have showcase for PSVR2 owners.
UpTheIrons
Ancient Mariner
Age of Empires 2 is a strong contender for one of the best RTS games ever made, it's quite beginner friendly with a big community but the online multiplayer has a steep learning curve. The newer Definitive Edition looks great, runs well and has a ton of content. However it is medieval era rather than ancient Greece/Rome, the Definitive Edition of the first game is set in this era. All of the games are actually on sale for the next couple of weeks on Steam with some pretty heavy discounts, so now might be a good time to try them out!
Civilization I'm not as familiar with but is an iconic turn based strategy game.
You might also consider the Total War franchise, a mixture of turn-based and real time on a grand scale. Check out Total War Rome II, but there are titles in the series spanning a wide variety of eras.
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UpTheIrons
Ancient Mariner
I have a friend who is really into Crusader Kings and speaks highly of it, I know the second one at least has quite a steep learning curve, but I think the third is a bit easier for beginners. If you are into mods I think there are some that will convert the setting of the game to the ancient era as well.
Turn-based (as opposed to real-time) means that you perform actions (building, moving troops, attacking etc.) in a turn based fashion like a game of chess whereas in real-time there is often a large element of speed, muscle memory, reaction needed in order to gain competency. Both types can be played single-player against the computer, multiplayer or a combination of both.
chaosapiant
Ancient Marinade
Crusader Kings III is a fantastic game and is the best entry to the series. The trick is you need to view it less as a "strategy game" and more of a strategic/dynastic role playing game. You're not playing as a country, you're playing as a Count/Duke/King/Earl, etc and dealing with their decisions and such. It's a great game, but even as user friendly as it is compared to past entries in the series, it still has a bit of a learning curve.