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Withywarlock

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Everything posted by Withywarlock

  1. I'm not surprised with how well they sell. They make headlines and review well, and to be honest if it keeps showing up the so-called AAA publishers who decided survival horror was dead I'm happy for them. Well, as happy as I can be for Capcom. I haven't forgotten on-disc DLC. I am curious though, what's your reason for fear? Isn't this just more of a good thing, or is it going into the territory of reinventing the wheel?
  2. I'm currently in the middle of a Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly Let's Play, following from Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer, Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure & 2: N-Tranced. It's certainly showing it's age and unfortunately a bit more. It had something of a troubled development, and is a stark contrast to its contemporaries. Still, they're a nice break between my modern multiplayer games, and I like recording the videos for my darling dearest. The original Counter-Strike has low system requirements and continues to be populated, so that might be worth trying instead. It's one of the most die-hard communities I've ever seen, which only makes the games harder to get into. 😞
  3. Mostly reading and preparing for my weekly (soon to be fortnightly) tabletop roleplaying games or chatting to my partner over Facebook, in terms of net hours consumed. Most recently have I gotten into comics, specifically the works of Garth Ennis again (Preacher, The Boys, Punisher MAX), seeing as I struggle to pay attention to novels.
  4. I have some difficulty remembering which subjects can be posted where (ie General Gaming and Video Games), and on top of that General Chat has sub-forums listed with topics underneath it such as this, so it seems a bit inconsistent. Other than that, I'm generally fine with it. The removal of Points. I get people like giveaways, and I like updoots on a forum but it encourages way too much spam. I'm currently at the point where I ignore notifications from select users because my contribution doesn't matter to them as much as their desire to meaninglessly bump the thread. Bidding for rewards has also proven difficult when the margins between regular and spam posters becomes impossibly distant. This isn't jealousy or saltiness for not getting prizes; I find points have become a motivator for poor forum practice. Thankfully the ignore functions are working and I'll be applying them liberally, but that means less reporting for Spring cleaning. As long as it cleans up the readability of threads, I'll likely stick with ignoring users. It's not my sort of thing but this isn't a vote against by any means. I'm sure it'll be useful to those who want it. Very much so. I appreciate the site has a dark mode applied by default, meaning I don't have to resort to browser add-ons to make it readable. It's disappointing when one has to do that. The VGR forum is instantly appealing right out the gate. It's incredibly easy, and I've yet to experience an error. I would however like the window for editing posts to be longer lasting as I'm tempted to add more in the future once I've collected my thoughts, but don't want to clog up the page with addendums which wouldn't be fair on other readers. Mostly. See the above feedback about spam. Others have been diplomatic about it getting better, but I do not subscribe to such niceties. My enjoyment of the forum has dipped considerably because of it, as has my post quality which reflects my mood all too often. It's simply too difficult to interact with other users on certain topics without interrupting a conversation that should be happening in some form of chat channel, or in a Reddit comment chain. I realise this same old drum has been banged upon enough, and there's not a lot the moderators can do. It can't be an easy time keeping new users and frequent ones in control, so all who run this place have my congratulations.
  5. I won't lie, I was genuinely thinking 'no' toward this answer. To not be able to play Spyro 2: Gateway to Glimmer or The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion again is a big ask, but any amount of money that would allow my partner and I to live together at the North Yorkshire coast would be well worth it. $1M would buy me that and then some, and my darling is money saavy, so she'd make the most out of it. It's a good job I did as thorough a Let's Play of it as I could so I could look back upon it with my memories and discoveries so vividly documented. I'd take it.
  6. Video gaming? No, it's par for the course for me. Tabletop gaming? On the days I don't get to spend with my partner, absolutely. Six sessions a month is just not enough for me.
  7. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is hands down my favourite, only adding to how I describe the game's artstyle as "a painting in motion." As much as I like that of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Apex Legends, it wears on the eyes as sensory Hell kicks in. Too much of a good thing and all that.
  8. Most games are educational in some form or another, in that they involve problem solving. But I'll give some specific answers: Portal: the game teaches about physics, encourages lateral thinking, and perspective. Democracy: a political game that - while not true to life in all things - will teach about governance and ideology, as well as the conflicts and ties they bring. Most RTS: Real Time Strategy games usually teach players about resource management, and using them effectively to achieve an objective within a certain time frame. I won't lie, I struggle to think of a lot of examples of games, especially ones that haven't been mentioned here already. If you've not read it, I strongly recommend Max Brooks' Zombie Survival Guide, which is rather entertaining and remarkably practical.
  9. The earlier mention of Yakuza is interesting to me because while it is a Japanese-made roleplaying game that's set in Japan, I never would've considered it a 'JRPG' as a genre. But then that's just one facet of the horrors of RPG discussion: what they are, and what they aren't, and then proceeding to call people gatekeepers. Much as I like Yakuza, I'm gonna be Today's Designated Gatekeeper™ and say it's not a JRPG in the sense of its style. That also means I won't be including another Japanese game that I very much like, Valkyria Chronicles. Enchanted Arms. By From Software, strangely enough. Xbox 360 exclusive, its combat was quite tactical and revolved around positioning on a grid. I don't remember much more than that. Eternal Sonata. I don't remember much about this other than its art style was gorgeous and the music was great (which it had to be given this is about a dying Chopin's final dreams). The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky. Not got far through this one but I really enjoy it. Likeable characters, understandable mechanics and some great combat mechanics. The Adventures of Monkey Hero. I don't expect anyone to know this one, and it's only really on the list because it's styled after Secret of Mana (Legend of Zelda is also frequently mentioned, much to the chargrin of Zelda fans who don't consider the games to be RPGs). It got ragged on by critics everywhere but it's a fine enough game, and it has some catchy tunes throughout. Final Fantasy X-2. I'm currently making my way through FFX and it's honestly not that bad (though its story is hard to follow at times; nowt new there then), but X-2 was a game I adored to no end during middle school. I look forward to finishing X just so I can understand the plot of its sequel better. That's a list that's never been seen before! 😅
  10. I've been a professional as a games journalist, but it comes with a lot of risk of burnout (here's one of my earliest and best write-ups on this forum on the subject). To stream for a living, no, I couldn't do it. I lack the wit, charisma and energy to pull off the amount of hours of smiling and joking required to keep people's attention for money. To test games, I'd have to be paid considerably more than the going rate to put up with some of the horror stories QA tells about the developers they work with. I might well give them a go one day, but I'm a mundane person who prefers mundane work. Then again even spinning and crouching on every conceivable pixel is a bit too boring for me.
  11. There are times when I've had to fight off addiction because I'd rather play something than go to the toilet, eat or drink (I also put that down to ADD), maintain eye health, or talking to my partner over Facebook. The lattermost is the one thing that stops me from fully embracing the addiction: 6PM is the cut-off time on certain days of the week because that's when we have our catch-ups. There are times when it seemed like addiction when really there was just a void that needed to be filled. I missed almost an entire year of college to stay at home and play World of Warcraft, not because the game was addictive per se, but because I deemed grinding Mists of Pandaria content a better use of my time (and considering I got the qualifications anyway, it was). If it weren't WoW, it'd be something else. But then a void needing to be filled would be considered an addiction: I'm obese because I eat when I'm bored, others eat when they're sad. As Dr. Phil Hammond once said, a psychological hole needs to be filled, but it needs to be replaced with something healthier. In the case of video games, I replaced it with reading, comics, going for walks and attending a gym. One final thing to note is that admitting you have an addiction is the first step to recovery. It is not the only step. If you feel you're addicted, ready yourself for help and seek it from professionals. Sometimes someone close by is good enough. I'll point out now as I've been DM'd about personal things in the past, I am not qualified to help.
  12. Only for Let's Play and that's more for achival/historical purposes than anything. I particularly like pointing out when someone whose name I share pops up in the Crash Bandicoot 'Special Thanks' bit; my parents didn't believe me when I told them. Speaking of which, the Crash Bandicoot games on Game Boy Advance had a nasty habit of re-rolling the credits seamlessly, so you could be sat through them multiple times if you weren't paying attention. If I sit through credits when I'm not filming, it's usually to see if there's a certain game director, voice actor, engine involved, or if there's an achievement for doing so. Otherwise, I don't bother.
  13. I think my record's about 16 hours (without changing or closing down the game), waiting for a spectral bear to show up in World of Warcraft's Grizzly Hills. I finally went to bed at 03:00 in the morning, waking up four hours later thinking "it's got to have shown up now, surely?" And then I remembered how many people have been waiting for this thing to appear for weeks on end, and I'd only been there for a day. Well, Blizzard earned their sub money that day. Another time was playing Total War: Rome II, chatting with my now girlfriend, listening to Buffy the Vampire Slayer in the background until 01-03:00 AM. I wish I had the ability to do that still; now we go for a lap around the park and I'm ready for bed at 19:00! 😅
  14. Back when I played my Playstation 4, I'd have to be liberal with uninstalling due to the lack of room. Even running things off the disc didn't save much room, so I had to choose carefully what games I'd keep and what I'd uninstall. Nowadays on PC I only do it when I absolutely have to, which thankfully isn't often because I have that many that I'm like "weeeeeell I want to play that one soon and I'll forget if I uninstall or "weeeeeeell that doesn't have cloud save so if I uninstall it it'll take my save data with it" and so on. I am the equivilant of a digital hoarder; if it doesn't have to go, and I can make any excuse to keep it installed, I will!
  15. I adore Splitgate. It's one of the few modern attempts at arena shooters I've come to like. It's the perfect mix of Unreal Tournament's snappy gameplay and Halo's bonkers modes. Plus the fact it's well worth playing over Halo: Infinite what with all its bugs, piss poor progression systems and downright sluggish updates. Whatever Halo does, Splitegate probably does better on less budget, time and server capacity. My only complaint with it is it can get sweaty. There's people who know all the timings for melee attacks and play Splitball / Zombie VIP exclusively, or have perfect map knowledge that can make it frustrating. I wholeheartedly recommend it, especially if you're frustrated with the state of modern multiplayer shooters.
  16. There's only 10 votes and 7 choices so I'm not surprised there's no support for it. Not to mention it's the newest of the lot as far as I can tell, the others all having developed renown over more than a decade. In the context of this list, I imagine any pre-3D Final Fantasy would've seen more votes than Bravely Default, because it's my understanding that's just what it is. That's just my guess though; CRPGs are more my thing. 😅
  17. Most of the time I prefer to play alone, and I rather enjoy having games that I play only with a certain group of friends and vice versa. One of my D&D players introduced me to a friend group and we play video games quite frequently, even though I originally wanted to play D&D exclusively and that be it. I treat video game friendships like any other relationship: there's a time and a place for communication, and usually it's not outside of that one game. Maybe that's just me, and maybe that seems exhausting. I regret losing friends simply to distance from the game, but it's bittersweet. I've got the memories playing with them and the good times we've had are what matter most. That said, I don't want to go through that every time I play something. If there's one drawback to playing with other people it's being conscious of them. Am I going too fast, too slow, am I taking the spotlight from them, am I lagging behind, do they want to go this way or that way? It really chives my spuds when my current game friend asks "another round?" or "what do you want to play?" and I'm thinking you invited me, you pick. They mean well, and I appreciate them asking rather than dictating more often than not. If I had to choose one way to play for the rest of my days, it'd be solo. There's many other hobbies I can induldge in with other people where we're all on even footing, but when I play a video game I want to play it, not wait or rush, or worry about the other person.
  18. I've only played Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, and even then it was only briefly due to the emulation crashing on me. Therefore it gets my vote. I've been meaning to play Chrono Trigger, which I hear is a must-play for anyone into JRPGs. I hear Bravely Default is a fine enough game also, going back to the simpler times of the Final Fantasy games.
  19. There's not much I can say about this, especially given the trailer: it's more REmakes. I imagine it's a Marmite thing, either you love 'em or you hate 'em, and maybe people are just waiting for the right game so... good for those who wanted to play RE4? I'd like to give these a try. If I enjoy Resident Evil 2's remakes, I think I'd enjoy this one just as much.
  20. I recall Silent Hill HD Collection on Playstation 2 being one of the earliest remasters to ever receive a poor reception, its biggest problem being that thanks to the PS2's higher rendering ability, the iconic fog had been removed, leaving streets clear as day. The general horrific atmosphere that comes part and parcel with Silent Hill was 'fixed' out of the game. Similarly, whilst Ty the Tasmanian Tiger's remasters enjoy rave reviews on Steam, Krome Studios had polished up the world a bit too much. Assets such as treelines meant to hide the invisible walls are low quality; jagged at the top and can be seen over, revealing a jarring lack of detail in its skyboxes beyond. Assets are certainly tidied up, but they're still the same stretched out, recycled, setpieces of before. 'Janky' is a word that's vastly overused, but there is some charm to the remasters' jankiness. Finally, and I don't know if these are considered remasters, remakes, reimaginings or reboots (and quite frankly, I don't intend to stick around to find out because that's not going to end well), but basically any of the Crash Bandicoot/Spyro rethingies beginning with the N. Sane Trilogy. They're very much like Marmite: you either love it or you hate it, except I love Marmite and have mostly dislike for anything Vicarious Visions has done since its days on the Game Boy Advance (like Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure or 2: N-Tranced, which are really good).
  21. Twice. The first time being in World of Warcraft; my partner at the time had to phone customer service to get it back, bless her, and I'd sold all my characters' ill-gotten gains from botting to a vendor. I wasn't about to contribute to the botting problem by profiting on it on the Auction House. I've yet to receive my halo for that one. The second time was my BethesdaNet account. Zero means of getting back into it, even to cancel it. Honestly, I pity the person who stole it because they wasted their time robbing me of Fallout 76. Thanks a bunch.
  22. I prefer being an experienced player, above all else. I don't have to be high level, well geared, or anything like that as long as the game has been fun enough for me to have spent a long time with it, its developers/publisher and community. It's very much why I don't see alt-oholism, the practice of making multiple alternate characters, to be a problem, nor why one has to 'main' a character. I don't like being designated into either box; I want whatever is the most help to myself and to others. Characters are means to an end. But to answer the question properly, a habit I need to get into, I'd say high level character. I rarely make it to the tippy top, so whenever I get there I'm proud to have accomplished something (and question what others were doing so wrong).
  23. I've not seen your posts before Maxi, so I bid you welcome to the forum. I also like that you've contributed to the question you've posed us, which always makes a good first impression. I like Boc well enough as a character and enjoyed his story (which begins by finding him disguised as a tree, interestingly enough), and he leads you to some boss arenas to take their stuff. I don't like the reward as tailoring does little to improve the game experiences (Fashion Souls this ain't), but I'm always happy to help a downtrodden soul like Boc. Boc 'n' Roll! I think one of the most important side-quests in gaming is The Bloody Baron's questline in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It's the one that helps a lot of people decide whether the game is for them, wherein something either clicks or it doesn't. Most people I talk to about the game either enjoyed it to begin with, or had their mind changed with that quest, and I feel the same. Whenever I think about the game I think about that quest, and go "I really ought to pick it up again." But my favourite side-quests have to come from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and IV: Oblivion. Morrowind because it does its guild content brilliantly, with tightly knit stories and interactions with other guilds. The Great Houses of Morrowind are a particularly nice take on guild content. But Oblivion has my favourite side quests in general because there's a great enough variety of combat, exploration and social encounters in each of the towns and you don't have to go far to find them (and some you do). Some of the voice work of Oblivion helps also: Lynda Carter's Meridia is my favourite character, possibly in the entire series (even more so than Wes Johnson's Count Janus Hassildor or Sheogorath).
  24. I second @Reality vs Adventure's suggestion of seeing your doctor and/or opticians immediately. I regret not seeing this post sooner because this isn't normal, and could be a sign of something very serious. Very recently I've had eyelid spasms, originally thinking it was my eyeballs themselves flickering out. I saw my optician and I'm thankful they said my eyes are perfectly healthy, but I don't want to take my chances. Anything I can do to limit screen time and bright lights I take without hesitation. ~ Hopefully I've just lost something in translation, and that by blackout it's like when I'm intuitively just flying through Spyro levels because I know them like the back of my hand without really any thought or care. Otherwise, don't risk it. Stay safe.
  25. I absolutely loved my Game Boy(s). One of my fondest childhood memories was doing so well in school that my folks rewarded me with a Game Boy Colour. Wario Land and Donkey Kong Land were easily some of the best games I'd played, if somewhat frustrating at times. Cost a bomb in batteries though. 😭
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