StaceyPowers

What is your system for reminding yourself to keep your controllers charged?

What would be the coolest animal or other organism to play in a video game? I would like to play as an insect. Or maybe some kind of microbe.

For some reason in open world games, when NPCs comment on the character’s appearance negatively, it takes me forever to figure out what they are talking about. Like in Skyrim, I think I had to look it up to see that NPCs were alerting me that I had a disease by saying I looked ill. And in RDR 2, I still can’t figure out why NPCs say I look bad.

In games, do you often try to keep your alignment good for RP reasons, even if it cost you advantages or means you miss out on content?

Has anyone here built a gaming PC from the ground up? What was your experience like?

What are some games (especially open world games) where the setting or maps are relatively small, and this turns out to be a benefit to the game, not a drawback?

What are some games where your base/camp/house/city/etc. actually feels like “home” as opposed to just a place where you live? I’m speaking here specifically about a sense of in-character “home,” not homey feelings you might have about the place out of character as the player.

There are some games where you can choose a male or female version of the same character to play, and/or there may be multiple voice actor options for each. What are some games where the different voice actors used for the same character all did well capturing the same personality and delivery of the lines?

Are there any games that you had a hard time getting into initially the first time you played them, but then, when you went back for a second playthrough, you couldn’t understand why they were so hard to get into the first time?

Kind of like how if you expect food to taste like one thing, and it tastes slightly different, it suddenly tastes awful, even if it wouldn't with the right expectations. I like the shape of the PS5 controller, but its weight just kills me.

Amazing, detailed review from you as always. Thanks so much for this. I can't wait to play it!

I don't see full immersive VR completely doing away with gaming as we know it, because it won't do away with the desire to just kick back and relax on a couch and play a game. If VR ever gets all sci-fi to the point where it's like Star Trek, that is going to be a form of gaming that is active and appeals to a totally different human need (more like what drives people to play sports or go hiking). I think both will coexist.

What are some games that come both with single player modes and co-op or multiplayer modes, where you prefer the latter? I’ve been doing some No Man’s Sky with a friend for the first time, and I feel like I prefer the game like that to single player so far.

What games do the best job making for interesting encounters with random NPCs as you are out exploring the world? I just started RDR 2, and so far the random encounters seem more varied and organic than those in other open world games I have played.

Whether its fighting, hunting, crafting, fishing, or any other mechanic or system in a game, how much/little complexity do you want to see it involve? Do you get overwhelmed by too much complexity, or bored with too much simplicity? Does the right balance depend on the individual game and the specific system?

I started using a mod that actually makes nighttime dark in Skyrim, and since then, I feel like nighttime is so bright in most video games. Does anyone else find themselves feeling annoyed by how bright night tends to be in games?

In a lot of games, the elements of “challenge” come from fighting harder and harder enemies, though they also get progressively easier to handle since you level up as you are doing it. What are some games that by contrast do not focus on leveling (or maybe don’t even include it), but offer challenges in a more organic way?

What are some examples of realism that just do not translate well to video games? For example, I like a small amount of camera wobble in first person, but if it’s a “realistic” amount, it just is awful for me to look at, and reduces immersion instead of increasing it.

So, I love everything about RDR 2 so far (which I just started playing) except for the controls, which I find extremely elaborate (I mean, there are even nested control schemes). I think with a certain level of detail in terms of what you can do in games, elaborate controls may be unavoidable, but it is increasingly hard with modern games for me to keep track of how to do things. Is anyone else overwhelmed by modern control schemes in games? Can it go too far?

I love that in RDR 2, I can actually pick up items off shelves in stores and examine them and buy them, rather than just using a shopping menu. What are some other games that feature interesting shopping mechanics?

I just started RDR 2, and am blown away by the level of detail in environments, character interactions, character status, etc. What games have impressed you the most with the level of detail they feature?

I was reading a post the other day about Saudi Arabia’s government creating esports initiatives, and how they expect it to create tons of jobs in the economy over the years ahead. It got me thinking about how esports competitor may remain a viable job for humans long after AIs take many other jobs, because the entire appeal is to watch humans compete and excel. Thoughts on this?

So, I have a weird question. Say a game is a PC/Xbox exclusive. I purchase it on PC, and then play it with my DualSense. Would the sensitivity with the DualSense be similar to what it would be on Xbox (i.e. completely reasonable), or will it be more like struggling to play a PC game without a mouse where the sensitivity is crazy on a gamepad?

I feel like Microsoft/Xbox give a lot of mixed signals about exclusives. On one hand, I read Phil Spencer saying somewhere within the past year that he thinks exclusives are going to phase out of existence in the future. On the other hand, Microsoft keeps buying studios and making exclusives, including in series that were previously not exclusive. Thoughts?

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/playstation-boss-jim-ryan-flew-to-brussels-to-voice-concerns-to-eu-over-xboxs-activision-deal/ “PlayStation boss Jim Ryan reportedly flew to Brussels last month to meet with European Union regulators currently scrutinising Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.” Basically, Phil Spencer said that COD would be on PlayStation for “several more years.” The implication is that after that, it would be a Microsoft exclusive. This has Sony worried.