General Games Discussion

Wonder if we'll ever get Witcher 4

Feels like Geralt's story is done but we all thought about Joel and Ellie too.

We're getting another Witcher game, they've basically confirmed this.

Whether it's with Geralt as the lead is or not is the bigger question.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:We're getting another Witcher game, they've basically confirmed this.

Whether it's with Geralt as the lead is or not is the bigger question.

Ciri isn't good enough to carry a game imo

Hope it's a new character.

That Ciri isn't, but she wasn't designed to carry a game. If she was it might be different.

But there's multiple ways you can go, it doesn't necessarily have to be Ciri.

Is the mechanics in Witcher 2 and 3 the same as in 1? The battle system confused me so much. You are 20 meters away from the enemy and all you have to do is click on him and Geralt automatically runs and hits him a couple of times. Then you wait, do nothing and click again when the cursor is yellow. And clicking "alt" button to see all the objects near you. Also you can pause during fight to change battle mode etc. My wife was literally disgusted watching me play this after she watched me play Elex and asked if this game was made for children.

No wonder people can't get to grips with Piranha Bytes battle system if this is what people are used to these days.

I will still play it for the lore and atmosphere, that seems to be the main strong point of the game which you would expect from a book adaptation. Seems a bit linear though (does that change, I mean I'm automatically in another city without walking there myself).

No, it's more of a 3rd person action RPG with dodges, parries etc.

You also have special magical abilities called signs as well as using oils and potions.

futbol wrote:My wife

Stopped reading there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6THCFFORrZM

Definitely going to play it at some point.

Rage 2 is receiving some serious hate by people who’ve played it. I had at least expected it to be a decent game, but a lot of people don’t seem to think so. Looks like it’s getting review bombed on Metacritic, as well, which honestly makes me suspect that the game isn’t really that bad, but people have other reasons to hate on it

Thimmy wrote:Rage 2 is receiving some serious hate by people who’ve played it. I had at least expected it to be a decent game, but a lot of people don’t seem to think so.

That isn't the case from what i can see.

There's two camps: Those who enjoy the gameplay and those who find the world uninteresting to explore and thus don't really care.

I'm not seeing any hate particularly.

I read some reviews, and a lot of people complain about bugs, barren wasteland, 30fps and lacking quality outside of gunplay.

So bugs is the only thing i didn't mention

lol they basically rehashed their previous game Mad Max (which wasn't a bad game at all). This is Ubisoft level of being scummy

danyjr wrote:lol they basically rehashed their previous game Mad Max (which wasn't a bad game at all). This is Ubisoft level of being scummy

I didn’t particularly care about the game to begin with, but I imagine it must’ve been a big disappointment to the people who loved the first one and expected something brand new from this long awaited sequel. Recycling assets from other games isn’t really all that unusual these days, but that’s not how I would go about attempting to re-boot or spruce life into a cult classic. Then again, that might not have been their intention

Thimmy wrote:Rage 2 is receiving some serious hate by people who’ve played it. I had at least expected it to be a decent game, but a lot of people don’t seem to think so. Looks like it’s getting review bombed on Metacritic, as well, which honestly makes me suspect that the game isn’t really that bad, but people have other reasons to hate on it

i loved rage 1 but this game looks like its gonna be nothing like the first game.

Recycling assets is why I haven't found any desire to play a Ubisoft game since AC: Origins. In fact I own the following but have zero intention in playing them:

• Assassin's Creed Odyssey
  
• Far Cry 5
  
• Far Cry New Dawn
  
• Ghost Recon Wildlands
  
• Watch Dogs 2
  

And I'm not even gonna bother getting Division 2 and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint even when they go on 75% sale like the above. I'm just fatigued and drained by those rehashed games.

#39

Game: Deep Fear.
Year: 1998 in Europe and Japan.
Genre: Action Horror.
Publisher: Sega.
Developer: Sega.



First things first, I am changing my rating system to a simpler 10 point system. Games that get above a 7 I fully recommend, and those that get below that are mostly a waste of time. That leaves the score of 7 to depend on your taste

With the major critical and commercial success of the first Resident Evil game, it was only a matter of time before other imitators started crowding the market. Among that crowd, Sega's Deep Fear was meant not only as a rival of Resident Evil but also as its answer in the Saturn's library.

Unsurprisingly, the game failed at both counts, failing to both establish a series or make any uplift to Saturn's flagging sales. Eventually, the game was the last Saturn release in Europe and was not released in North America.

In hindsight, I can see that the game isn't actually bad in the standards of its day, but that it does not have the qualities of Resident Evil and it's better imitators that it becomes worth it to play it today.

"A human being turning into a monster, what is happening here?"

The most unique aspect of Deep Fear and by far its best is the setting. Deep below the ocean floor, the game takes place in an experimental underwater lab and submarine refueling building called the "Big Table". It's a unique setting that the game utilizes well in both gameplay design and story events.

In this isolated base, you control John Mayor, who is suddenly thrust into a major crisis. Starting with the mysterious crash of a submarine that was attempting to refuel, a parasite or something started spreading around the base turning humans into hideous monsters.

Basically, this is a zombie game that is set underwater, with the zombies looking different and featuring some different water-inspired designs. From that point, the game doesn't attempt to be anything different, but its execution of the basic plot is awful.

If you at any point attempt to take the game's story seriously, you will be sorely disappointed. The only way to approach the plot is to laugh at its B-Movie sensibilities. Starting with the terrible acting, behavior, dialogue, and general mannerisms of all the game's characters.

Every cutscene in the game competes with the hammiest scenes in Resident Evil, as character act and talk in stiff and robotic ways, as they continue being as stupid as they can be. Reactions to character deaths are non-existent, and the fact that no one is at all freaked out by bleeding ocean zombies is astounding.

You can detect a director's hand in all of this mess. A director who understands elements of good storytelling and drama, but, for whatever reason, was not able to employ that understanding in any meaningful way.

As such, the game's story goes beyond camp and parody and simply becomes a huge bore.

"If exposed to the outer world, as estimated 264 hours is all it would take to wipe out all the mammals in the planet"

While it is clear that Deep Fear took its core design from the Survival Horror genre, it becomes quickly apparent that it is more an action game than a survival one. This is purely due to the abundance of ammo and health items.

As such, while rudimentary puzzles, fixed camera locations, tank controls, and even the shooting mechanics are all similar to Resident Evil, the fact that there is no ammo scarcity completely changes the player's approach.

Simply put, you have all the firepower in your disposal to get rid of all the enemies you encounter. Starting from the moment you enter the room, you can aim at the enemies, even if they are off-screen, and shoot the dead. By the time you run out of ammo, you will probably be next to a storage area where you can recover all ammo at no cost.

Of course, enemies can still swarm you and do some damage, at which point you can use some of the overabundant (and infinite) first-aid sprays that the game offers.

This design choice offers up combat as something to enjoy rather than avoid. Unfortunately, the clunky nature of the action as well as the limited offensive options both make anything but enjoyable.

In fact, the only element that I somewhat enjoyed is the fact that you need to keep a tab on the air supply in the base. Combat reduces the oxygen content in the air, and once it hits zero, your air gauge starts to drop.

This is an excellent mechanic that is thematically appropriate. However, soon it also becomes apparent that maintaining the air supply is very easy, as you have an abundant supply of air grenades and air system consoles to restore the spent oxygen supplies.

"The oxygen circulation system is broken. Activate the AS or else it's going to be tough"

As you can guess by now, the gameplay wasn't particularly engaging. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case in the early parts of the game. Before any of the monsters showed up, the game was effective at building a sense of tension and isolation.

Then, with a mix of exploration "quests", it introduced elements of the gameplay in a clever way. As I went inside the destroyed submarine, the ammo was truly scarce as I had no idea about the storage areas by that time, and air was truly precious. Especially when entering a flooded area for the first time and seeing that air gauge drop.

After that, the game continued offering some good micro areas such as the submarine. However, as the game opened up, and the entire base became semi-open, the design flaws became apparent.

The second half of the game is full with backtracking, where you need to go back and forth between two far away points and then back again. Apparently, the designers thought the "fun" part in that is fighting against the respawning enemies (they don't always respawn) and going back to a storage room to replenish ammo supplies.

It is in those sections that the repetitive and boring elements of the gameplay were exposed.

"Aaah, my masterpiece is ruined. Ooooh, what I am going to do"

When it was first released, the game wasn't only compared to Resident Evil because of its theme and gameplay, but also because of its graphics, which are obviously similar.

Except, it is not nearly as expertly crafted. The characters are blockier and their animation is stiffer. The environment is okay, but an undersea base is not varied looking anyways. Maybe, because they are allowed to be super grotesque, the enemies look actually "good".

One thing that is surprising is the number of CGI scenes in the game, many of which are good by the standard of the time, but look terrible today. Honestly, the directing of the scenes is where they falter, as unnatural moves and terrible pauses ruin what may have been a good scene.

While the graphics are excusable given the abilities of the time, the voice acting is not. Compounded by some terrible dialogue and directing, the voice acting goes beyond B-Movie camp.

Surprisingly, the soundtrack is really very good, with famed composer, Kenji Kawai, doing one hell of a job. Starting with the excellent opening "Visitation" to a really good boss theme. It and the really good soundtrack are both beyond the standards of the rest of the game.

In Conclusion:

Inspired by the excellence of Resident Evil but not able to capture what made it such a brilliant game, Deep Fear is only a surface level imitation that has a weaker story and atmosphere, and more damningly, much weaker gameplay.

At best, this is a playable curiosity.

Final: 5/10

Pros:

• Very Good Soundtrack
  

Cons:

• Boring Action Gameplay
  
• Bad Story and Acting
  
• Bad Gameplay Design
  

"Tips"
1- Shooting reduces air so take care of that.
2- Reloading, wearing the air mask, or throwing a grenade all leave you open to get attacked.
3- Use the auto-lock option, manual aiming is terrible.
4- You will need to search around the environment for extra information and some items.
5- There are many boxes with infinite smalle first-aid sprays, use them well.
6- Once you get the shotgun, always use your secondary weapon.
7- When you enter a room, listen for enemy grunts to know which type of enemy is hiding from your view.

"Next Game"

When writing the review of Deep Fear I started to realize more and more how much bored I was while playing the game. It is almost inoffensive in its boring design, which is why I didn't stop playing it but never really enjoyed my time after the opening hours.

Next game in the list is a prequel to a game I enjoyed on the Genesis. Legend of Oasis at #38 is an action adventure game that looks like it would be right up my alley.

Stay Tuned

Man i hope that sound track was good

Because it sounds really bad outside of it.

A new Splinter Cell game may have just been leaked

https://uk.ign.com/articles/2019/05/14/a-new-splinter-cell-may-have-been-leakedby-a-ubisoft-dev?sf102723465=1

New BioShock Could Release Late 2019 or Early 2020

Kaladin wrote:New BioShock Could Release Late 2019 or Early 2020

Hype, love Bioshock. Maybe E3 will have more big games than some initially thought

Kaladin wrote:New BioShock Could Release Late 2019 or Early 2020

It's undoubtedly not going to be the same without Ken Levine. I'll definitely wait and do some research before I consider buying this one.

A bit of a late news but Obsidian's upcoming RPG The Outer Worlds was majorly funded on Kickstarter and many of the backers were PC players wanting to play it on Steam.

Obsidian have now announced that the game will be a timed-exclusive on Epic Games Store with the Steam release as late as a year after on Epic...

Just when you thought you'd seen it all a developer goes and completely backstabs its backers who paid their wages. I can see a lawsuit incoming against the publisher.

danyjr wrote:A bit of a late news but Obsidian's upcoming RPG The Outer Worlds was majorly funded on Kickstarter and many of the backers were PC players wanting to play it on Steam.

Obsidian have now announced that the game will be a timed-exclusive on Epic Games Store with the Steam release as late as a year after on Epic...

Just when you thought you'd seen it all a developer goes and completely backstabs its backers who paid their wages. I can see a lawsuit incoming against the publisher.

Incorrect.

The game this is happening too is called the Outer Wilds and is a completely different game which has nothing to do with Obsidian.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

danyjr wrote:A bit of a late news but Obsidian's upcoming RPG The Outer Worlds was majorly funded on Kickstarter and many of the backers were PC players wanting to play it on Steam.

Obsidian have now announced that the game will be a timed-exclusive on Epic Games Store with the Steam release as late as a year after on Epic...

Just when you thought you'd seen it all a developer goes and completely backstabs its backers who paid their wages. I can see a lawsuit incoming against the publisher.

Incorrect.

The game this is happening too is called the Outer Wilds and is a completely different game which has nothing to do with Obsidian.

PS: Why on earth are these two games so similarly named

Kaladin wrote:New BioShock Could Release Late 2019 or Early 2020

Won't be as good without Levine.

Probably be another Bioshock 2

But still hyped. Will play it anyways.