Saturday!
Last week, in the comments, we kinda got into it over the whole issue of reboots that are little more than retreads.
There’s tension between the whole thing of taking a game from 1989 and using that basic idea to tell the same (or similar) story with modern tools and taking a game from 1993 and ditching pretty much everything but the name and then slapping that name on a game that could have pretty much any name slapped on it.
I’m confident in saying that everybody hates the latter. I understand, however, the whole thought process behind saying “I can’t believe that they’re trying to reboot Bad Dudes!” (I went and Googled late 80’s Video Games and was kind of taken aback by how many memorable games from that era had already been rebooted… and at how many games from that era had a II or a III after their title that are still around.)
But, sometimes, the point of a game isn’t really the whole underlying story (e.g., Planescape Torment) or the universe in which it takes place (e.g., the Fallouts 3, New Vegas, and 4) but the mechanics. If the mechanics of the game are really good, really solid, and rewarding to play, it’s not so bad to get a “new” game that consists of little more than a new coat of paint on some really good, really solid, rewarding to play mechanics.
Which brings me to Far Cry Primal. (I guess marketing said that “Far Cry 5” was reserved and “Far Cry V” didn’t really fit with their vision for the series.)
The Far Cries did a good, solid job of taking some good, solid sandboxy mechanics and applying them to some good, solid first person shooty mechanics and duct taping them together to give a good, solid game. (And starting with Far Cry 3, putting some attempts at criticizing the tropes of the genre in there as well.)
This time around, however, they’re taking you back to the mesolithic era. Sabretooths! Mastodons! If we’re lucky, a megalonyx! Megafauna to conquer, technology to build out of rocks and hide and whatnot, and, huh, a language based on Proto-Indo-European… that’s actually kinda pretty cool.
They’re basically taking a game that you’ve played a hundred times already, changed some skins, and given it a new and improved setting and, holy cow, created a game that, seriously, I’m going to look into purchasing as soon as Lent ends.
So… what are you playing?
(Picture is “Untitled” by our very own Will Truman. Used with permission)
Lord of the Rings Online. I’m working through the “Ballad of Bingo Boffin,” which is excellent! It’s lighthearted and cheerful and worth waiting for each week’s episode. Last week, The Tolkien Professor made it to Minas Tirith as a chicken. I have a Loremaster following the Epic quest line in the Lonelands, and a Hunter in the Misty Mountains helping Gloín with some Orcs. I almost don’t care about the adventures; it’s enough to explore Middle Earth.Report
Now that I’m done with my series of trials, I’ve a bit of topi me here. Resumed Rise Of The Tomb Raider, trying to clear out the Soviet Installation before moving on to the ruins of Kitezh. It’s kind of like Ridiculously Overpowered Deer Hunter right now: my chronically shortaged resource is animal skins.Report
Been playing Pillars of Eternity again, now that the second expansion is out. It’s still great fun, though the expansion companions don’t do it for me the way the base companions do.Report
I continue to play Fallout (I don’t get as much time as I’d like). I’m currently putting together “Morat’s Home for Wayward Companions” (I’ve ignored the Red Rocket truck stop, and I plan to park all my companions there. No beacon either. Just my companions. Which means, among other things, I need to toss in beds, water, defenses, and food…
I did finish the Nick Valentine quest, and came out with 5 jumpsuits — all moddable, which means I can slap them on companions. Makes them easier to pick out of a crowd.
I also snagged “Don’t Starve” and “Plague Inc: Evolved” off of steam to give them a try. Assuming I find time.Report
I’m not as quick as @autolukos so I’m only about halfway? through XCOM2 (the doomsday clock is at 6/10, but I’m only just starting to strike back).
Funny – one of the base upgrades gives a random perk to soldiers from a different specialty’s skill tree. Scouts have an interesting skill which gives a free move (not free action, just free move) if they get a kill with their last action (allowing them to rush in for a coup de grace then escape). My main sniper was gifted with that perk, so now every time she gets a kill, she gets a free move. For a sniper. Who’s sitting in cover. Way back off the front line. I’ve rejected it literally every time it’s come up.Report
Still cracking away at the Shadowrun: Hong Kong expansion campaign. After I’m done with this, I have to choose between moving on to either Just Cause 3 or Fallout 4. Right now, I’m leaning toward the former, just because the DLC for the latter drop over the next few months and it seems worthwhile to wait to get all that before I start.Report
I’m on Far Cry 4 and, while it’s “good” it wasn’t as interesting as Far Cry 3 was, which introduced the whole crafting thing. Frankly, because it’s “more of the same”. Yes, it’s cool to ride an elephant and I do like the whole buddest/zen thing going on but it’s really just FC3 re skinned with a minor story line change. Glad I didn’t pay 50 bucks for it.
Not sure what next up is. Now that I have a pc capable of playing some recent games there’s lots to choose from.Report
I bought the Ubisoft Humble Bundle earlier in the month and finally played through my first Assassin’s Creed game.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue was entertaining, but I definitely had the sense I was entering the story mid-stream. I used google to fill in some gaps, but I’m guessing people who played through the whole series cared more about the recurring characters. Overall, I enjoyed it, but the collecting and conquering aspect of it seemed pointless after a while and I simply stopped and focused on the plot. Speaking of the plot, it’s one of those maddening situations where if the characters had simply had a long conversation they may have been able to avoid the entire mess to begin with. The naval battles made me nostalgic for Sid Meier’s Pirates! I only got frustrated with the controls a few times, such as trying to climb up to the flag on a ship. And for some reason the first person view gives me motion sickness when turning. The first and only time I can recall experiencing that with a game.
I wouldn’t mind playing another in the series, but I’ll probably wait until something goes on sale.
Next up for me will be Far Cry 3, which was also part of the bundle. I played most of the original but didn’t finish and never played Far Cry 2 at all.Report
Uh-oh.
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Venture Soul would not have any attachment to a particular console; only the desire to
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