Gamers Thread

[Dak]

What's the issue with Absolution?

 

[Omni]

Anyone started Dark Souls 3 yet? My copy should arrive on Tuesday, I'm too excited.

I won't play it until Friday. It should be cool.

 

[H.P. Lovecraft]

Absolution completely ass-raped what made the franchise great. It turned it into MG with the magic x ray vision crap, you could shoot the everloving daylights out of a mission and still get a decent rating, the plot was essentially a bad action movie, replete with craploads of "Shit goes boom" nonsense, the AI was abhorrently incompetent, and Purist mode was the only even remotely difficult play mode in the entire game, and certainly the only one that even attempted to approach the previous games in regards to difficulty. You don't feel like the world's most stealthy and lethal hired killer, you feel like a moderately sneaky Arnold Schwarzenegger. I could go on, but that's the gist of the issues.

 

[Phylactery]

I won't play it until Friday. It should be cool.

Well it didn't arrive today even though they sent me an email last Thursday saying it had been dispatched ready to be delivered today. I only pre-ordered it because I wanted the special edition since Dark Souls 1 is one of my favourite games ever. Never pre-ordering again.

My friend is already 10 hours in because he got it digitally last night at midnight.

 

[Draehl]

I need to get the don't starve expansion. Add boats and islands and such. Especially cutting back on the online gaming I need something single player with some depth and this game is definitely it.

 

[Manic Ferocity]

Anyone started Dark Souls 3 yet? My copy should arrive on Tuesday, I'm too excited.

I'm about two bosses in and it's pretty much living up to my expectations. Flawless gameplay, steep difficulty, interesting NPCs, etc. I doubt I'll end up loving it as much as Bloodborne but they really hit the nail on the head as far as Dark Souls goes.

 

[Phylactery]

I don't own a PS4 to play Bloodborne, however, a friend of mine owns it and he doesn't like it so I have played some of it. He complains about enemies respawning when you die and having to clear out the area again and he just refuses to get good.

Glad to hear Dark Souls 3 is living up to the hype. Do the weapon arts add a new dimension to the combat?

I remember you saying that you were playing through Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2 in preparation for 3. What did you think of them in the end?

 

[no country for old wainds]

 

[Manic Ferocity]

I don't own a PS4 to play Bloodborne, however, a friend of mine owns it and he doesn't like it so I have played some of it. He complains about enemies respawning when you die and having to clear out the area again and he just refuses to get good.

Glad to hear Dark Souls 3 is living up to the hype. Do the weapon arts add a new dimension to the combat?

I remember you saying that you were playing through Demon's Souls, Dark Souls and Dark Souls 2 in preparation for 3. What did you think of them in the end?

I didn't end up finishing any of them before 3 but I've played them all. All worthwhile if you like the franchise but definitely a time investment. The first Dark Souls is probably the hardest game in the series.

 

[Phylactery]

The first Dark Souls will probably always be my favourite because it was the first one I played. I found Dark Souls 2 to be harder actually (Scholar of the First Sin edition). The Drangleic set you can find early is extremely overpowered but I didn't find it right away and I was struggling until I found it. Without that set I think it may have been harder on the whole. I guess there wasn't a boss in the second one as challenging as Ornstein and Smough (took me hours!), but the Fume Knight in the DLC came close.

My copy of Dark Souls 3 arrived today and I'm also 2 bosses in and really enjoying it so far. The areas are rather maze like so far and I've had no idea if I'm on the right path or not multiple times.

 

[Manic Ferocity]

Ugh, I had to summon phantoms for Ornstein & Smough. Ridiculously tough.

I've heard most people claim that Dark Souls 2 is significantly easier. I only managed to reach one boss (since I was mainly just trying it out).

 

[Blind Guardian]

Absolution completely ass-raped what made the franchise great. It turned it into MG with the magic x ray vision crap, you could shoot the everloving daylights out of a mission and still get a decent rating, the plot was essentially a bad action movie, replete with craploads of "Shit goes boom" nonsense, the AI was abhorrently incompetent, and Purist mode was the only even remotely difficult play mode in the entire game, and certainly the only one that even attempted to approach the previous games in regards to difficulty. You don't feel like the world's most stealthy and lethal hired killer, you feel like a moderately sneaky Arnold Schwarzenegger. I could go on, but that's the gist of the issues.

Have you tried playing the Paris mission with hints, instinct and the minimap turned off? I started enjoying it much more after I got rid of that stuff.

 

[Omni]

Dark Souls II is easier in a lot of ways, but it also has a lot of dumb design decisions that are totally at odds with the original series concepts.

Demon's Souls will forever be my favorite. The fastest combat (Bloodborne excluded), most varied bosses and best world design despite everything being separated into Archstones.

 

[Manic Ferocity]

I think that might be the only thing I didn't care for in Demon's Souls. I feel more immersed by the interconnectedness of the following games.

 

[Phylactery]

Yeah, the way all the areas connect in Dark Souls into one huge world is genius design and one of my favourite things about it. This was done nowhere near as well in DS2 where parts of its geography make no sense. At one point you go up an elevator from a windmill full of poisoned land and suddenly you're in a castle submerged in lava! You can't even see the castle until you go up the elevator either. It's still a pretty good game though (especially the dlc), it just didn't live up to the first one for me.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

Yeah so basically TPK in our d&d game. Should have known once he threw us in the underdark at level 7.

My solace is in the two survivors of that mission: the cleric, and my familiar. See, my tressym familiar actually has a higher intelligence than anyone in the party. In addition, he acts as host to some ethereal creature that lives on his collar. It has always allowed him to basically astral walk.

When that creature used it's engorge ability, after feeding off all the spells and scrolls and wands the cleric could throw at him, he was able to transport the dying cleric with him wherever he wanted to go. And so he went to westgate, where it all began almost a year ago.

My solace is in the new game, where we're all really hoping my boy continues playing as that same cleric, with my tressym as his only friend.

He lost his family's honor, he lost his friends, he lost many a weapon and many points in good, slowly swaying to the side of lawful neutral. He witnessed an insane old elf crit fail a seduction while spiderclimbing and instead puke all over the object of her desire. He was privy to kraken and purple wurms and so many, many assassins. He stood by dispassionately as goblin prisoners were stripped naked, the clothes taken from them offered as bartering tools, and then their very asses offered as the same.

He drank with Dionysus and did his bidding. He fucked his sister. He kept his cool when another party member took 'gathering jnformation' on the thieves' guild as throat slamming the nearest villager and screaming 'TELL ME WHERE ALL THE GOOD THIEVES ARE!!'

He helped the poor and put up with the worst. And now he's back where it all started. Grizzled, leveled, and hopeless, with neither money nor honor, and utterly no further purpose.

RIP insane old elf. RIP halfling whom I insisted to the bitter end was a long gone party member. And Bon voyage, Agron, the cleric. What adventures shall await us next? Only the gods know.

 

[SweptbackFlame]

I've been trying out the latest Hitman, and thus far it seems to still be afflicted by the malady of Absolution. I'll most likely wait till the whole thing releases on a PC disc to get the whole thing.

The Complete game comes out next year in January I think.

 

[H.P. Lovecraft]

Have you tried playing the Paris mission with hints, instinct and the minimap turned off? I started enjoying it much more after I got rid of that stuff.

Yeah, I've given that a shot, still far too many of Absolution's old tumors in it. It's better that way, but still an atrocious excuse for a Hitman game.

 

[H.P. Lovecraft]

The Complete game comes out next year in January I think.

So I've heard.

 

[no country for old wainds]