General gaming discussion

Exclamation Marc

Saw this today on Gametrailers which looks pretty unique and fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pe7jqG4lWs&ab_channel=GameTrailers

Zero-Cool

Under The Waves was released last week, looks super interesting and just 30 quid. Will definitely pick this up over the best few months.

https://youtu.be/XUaEgF5RKWE?si=h8DBWZ9xU0mP2u_o

JimBurnley

I'm heading to a tour of Japan in a few weeks and have a free day in Tokyo. Any gaming locations/activities/places to see anyone would recommend?

RedXIV

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121079068#Comment_121079068

Was there in 2020, and if you have a full day, you could get a lot done in Tokyo. The main thing anyway is to hit up the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara district. This is where you'll find the bigger arcades and loads of retailers if you want to buy a few bits. Full disclosure, there's very little english based stuff there BUT there is some stuff in there in english or a handful of games/systems that allow you to change the language so do a bit a research on what you're looking for before hand and you'll make the most out of it.

The arcades I saw when I were there have sadly started shutting down, but they were the big sega ones. I was actually kind of disappointed with these when I was there as they are vastly dominated by maybe 10/15 games with multiple cabs rather than lots of obscure ones which I was hoping for. However, what these tend to be are not ones that you'll need any japanese to play, which is good. The more obscure ones had already been closed by the time I got there :(

There are a couple of gaming pubs/bars that are fun to look around, I particularly liked 8bit (https://www.shinjuku-guide.com/articles/other/enjoy-shinjukus-nightlife-8bit-cafe-bar-love-gaming-culture.html) which had some crazy stuff in it. Do your research here before you go, as Covid was known to disrupt a lot of places, but I believe this one is still going. The other ones I've been to were the square enix ones but I'm a fan of theirs and it's def a fanservice bar, if you don't like Final Fantasy or Nier, probably no point in going.

If you have a full day, one of the areas I wish I had spent more time in was over the rainbow bridge in the Odaiba district. It's got a big indoor arcade /amusements but it's fairly anime heavy and the guys I was with were not into it at all. Link here so you can decide for yourself -> https://tokyo-joypolis.com/language/english/ . Also, the tram going over the rainbow bridge is well worth doing for a view of Tokyo. It goes several stories over the ground so you get to see bullet trains, motorways going through buildings, and a nice birds eye view of a lot of areas.

That kinda brings me to another point, a lot of what you'll look up will interchangably use anime and gaming, but if you're only into gaming and not anime, look for reviews because Japan assumes if you like one, you like the other. Didn't bother me, but bothered the guys I was with.

If you have anything more specific, let me know, my brother is living in Japan (not Tokyo) and I may be able to find out more for you. Especially if there is a particular gaming franchise you like. My brother likes horror games and has found loads of niche things there as well as a Metal Gear Solid themed escape room :D

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121079068#Comment_121079068

It's been a while since I've been there, and Akihabara - the obvious place to go for gaming stuff - has changed a lot since then AFAIK. Super Potato is the famous retro game shop where you go to bask in the sheer size of the collection, although the general advice is to not actually buy games there (unless they're cheap / common ones) and track down the smaller shops if you're buying something more expensive :)

When I was there a lot of the arcades were still thriving, but things have changed since then. Still, you'll often need to actually look around for the proper gaming floor, which is often a few stories up. Definitely try a few of them, as the quality could vary significantly from arcade to arcade. Make sure to give a proper Taiko no Tatsujin machine a go, though ;)

Akihabra is a bit of a general 'geek / otaku' district so it'll largely be electronics and anime stuff, but there's definitely gaming stuff to be found and enjoyed while there.

Joyopolis mentioned above is good fun but you'd need a half day at least to enjoy a trip to Odaiba, and there's probably more interesting stuff in Tokyo if you're only there for a day.

McFly85

+1 on Akihabara and Super Potato. Spent a good amount of time on each floor just admiring the amount of old consoles and games they had on the shelves. I did buy an old neo geo pocket while I was there too which was fairly reasonable.

Regarding arcades, I’m no help to you. Went into a few and they were worth the visit, loud, smoky and some crazy looking cabinets. I like the way Japanese cabinets are set up for 2 players too(2 cabinets merged back to back). Played a game of Virtua Tennis 2 and got my ass handed to me before realising I was playing the guy on the other side!

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121079068#Comment_121079068

There's big name arcades in akihabara but I recommend skipping them all and going to Hey!

Hey is one of the biggest with all the latest games but also has a massive floor dedicated to retrogaming as well as having location tests for brand new games. When in was there they were location testing time crisis 4 and a new melty blood.

Super potato was great but the shelves are a bit bare one now. Worth it to see the prices of the holy grail items. There's a few other retro game shops but they are quite hard to find.

I actually found Osaka to be a much better place to pick up retrogames in den den town. Game detective is over priced but you'll find stuff there you would t on others and the super potato is Osaka is way better than the Tokyo one.

JimBurnley

Thanks all for the Tokyo tips, much appreciated. Anime doesn't float my boat so definitely looking at the more gaming specific spots. Will report back next month with how I get on

irishguitarlad

I really need to get a ps5 for Alan Wake 2. I loved the story in the first one and I'm just beginning to play Control now. I also checked out the Bright Falls mini series and American Nightmare and I just love the universe that remedy creates. Would you recommend me to watch a cut-scene movie of quantum break?

Jordan 199

The Crew Motorfest will be out on Thursday. Will any of you be picking it up?

Potential-Monke

Tempted. I think I'm near the end of Imortals of Aveum but don't know if I should trade this in against Mortal Kombat or The Crew. I'm thinking MK as I've no interest in online and I rekcon I'll be done with it quicker than The Crew, and will trade it against that then. But I'm liking the look of it. The fact they've dropped boats and planes makes me happy. Direct competitor to FH5 people reckon. Enjoyed the bit of the beta I played.

Grumpypants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121102502#Comment_121102502

How are you finding immortals? I've 3 more missions to do. Maybe 2.5hours left.

I'm enjoying it for the most part. They Could have cut out a few hours. As parts felt like filler in a game that didn't need buffing out.

Last few hours have been really good. So it's ending on a high.

Potential-Monke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121102950#Comment_121102950

I'm really enjoying it. I didn't know much about it when I bought it other than magic fps, and while it could perform better it's still a very solid and enjoyable game. I've just picked up the barrier break ability so I reckon I'm not far from the end either but my magic is only about half filled in all 3 sigils so maybe I've plenty to go yet? Kinda cleaning up the maps at the moment, doing the Shroudfanes and collecting chests. Have 2 legendary rings and just got a legendary limpets upgrade.

I'm terrible for remembering to use everything, always forget the Timeburst, Vortex and the Dominion spell Immolate. Immolate is OP as heck, I love it, just always forget to use it. Battles are a bit hectic now though, explosions of colours everywhere! You can tell there's Sledgehammer devs involved, and the writing/story helps show the Telltale devs involved. For a debut game, it's actually excellent. Just needs some polish which I hope it gets.

Grumpypants

Not far behind me so. I did get the barrier break earlier today. I feel like it really picks up from here.

There is so much going on and so much to keep in your head with all the different spells. But when you get a decent flow going it's great you can feel very powerful.

marcbrophy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121101491#Comment_121101491

I was in the closed alpha and the closed beta and neither time would the game work properly.

It would get to the menu and then as it was loading into the world, I'd get an error message and it would just load the menu again!

The support in discord didn't know what was specifically wrong and just sent me generic troubleshooting, which done sweet F A!

So no, I don't think I could stomach paying full price for it now!

I'll play it on GP in Feb though :D

Potential-Monke

Got a bit further now, only missing a Legendary blue sigil and I have all Legendary then. Avoiding the Shroudfanes for "The Six" for now, even warns you to be top tier for them so I'd imagine like the Valkyries from GoW. Also put one other on hold for now, a batshit crazy one where its a massive mixture of specific sigil only damage enemies, I died in the third wave and bowed out for now.

I believe I'm on the second last chapter now. But my map marker isn't working for this so after spending and hour trying to find it myself, I'm gonna search for it before giving it another bash tonight. Very impressed with it, and as you said really picking up the intensity and spectacle now.

CatInABox

Fallout TV show looks like it's got ok production values anyway.

https://twitter.com/FilmsFallout/status/1701702810071699592

Won't be the same without the jank, of course.

Grumpypants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121103564#Comment_121103564

Just finished it there. Really enjoyed it.

I skipped the 6 as well. Walked in saw the message to only try it with your best gear. Turned on my heals and walked back out 😂

Jordan 199

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121103337#Comment_121103337

The beta worked fine for me on the PS5.

I don't think I will be getting the game as the beta reminded me of Forza Horizon games, and I have gone off them completely.

marcbrophy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121104900#Comment_121104900

Oh really?

I still play FH5 every week!

Play all the seasonal events!

You might have talked me into checking out more about this :)

Also, wondering if I'd picked a different platform for the alpha and beta would it have worked? Probably would have :D

wotzgoingon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121104900#Comment_121104900

and I have gone off them completely.

What is the reason for this? Played them too much or?

Potential-Monke

I'm finding it hard to word this, but what put me off FH5 was the lack of feeling of progression. I know it's probably just the game style, but I can't help but compare these arcade racers to the early NFS and Burnout type games, and in them you worked you way up through everything, getting the faster and stronger cars as you went. In Horizon, within an hour I'd an S1 car, plenty of won vehicles and the money started flowing in. I mean, that's great to nearly instantly have access to everything, but it fell flat in the end. My first goal was to get all the Mitsubishis, and I more or less had it done in no time.

I say this realising the whole game is about progressing, but the way it's done didn't last long with me. I prefer the progression of the aforementioned games. Even in sims, GT7 is missing this too and this is where Motorsport could take over with their Builders Cup. Looks like Motorfest could be similar with it's approach to throw everything at you all at once.

I just want a new Burnout.

Jordan 199

Grand Theft Auto V will be ten years old on Sunday.

wotzgoingon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121106899#Comment_121106899

Great game. I remember it stuttering some times on my 360 while playing it. It was a game a head of it's time which is what made it so good to be released on newer platforms.

With the money they made it's about time we got VI. That's the thing though they are probably still making money even right this second off V that from a business prospective it would be pointless to release VI.

Potential-Monke

It's made $7.7 billion since release (at least half a billion of which is directly from Shark cards). They want to hit the $10 billion mark, so it must still be raking it in. I think I read in like Q3 2022 they were bringing in $15k a day for that quarter.

Their greed makes more sense when you realise they're owned by the same lads as the 2K games.

Exclamation Marc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121107037#Comment_121107037

Whilst it deeply annoys me that they go back to beat the nearly dead horse rather than release something new, the community has to take an enormous portion of the blame for continuing to make it a worthwhile practice to do so. If the well dried up even five years ago, we'd have had GTA6 by now.

I'll give you the "greed" argument on the RDR and GTA Remasters, but their continued return to GTA5 is because of players lapping it up every time. If its printing money, why would they stop it?

Markitron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121083076#Comment_121083076

Make sure to play the Control DLC, I think you will particularly enjoy that. QB, as far as I know, has absolutely no direct connected links to the other games outside of referencing an AWE. There were no back references to it in Control which is probably because MS own the license. It is also not supernatural like Control and AW so probably just wouldn't gel as well.

On the other hand because of the live action cut scenes and the TV show episodes they inserted into various parts of the game, it would probably be relatively easy to watch it on YT compared to most games.

johnny_ultimate

Have played the first hour or so of Mediterranea Inferno after reading the very warm responses to it from a few people & outlets I tend to trust, and it's quite the treat. Won't be for everyone given it's a visual novel about three queer Italians on summer holidays with a bunch of surreal, abstract flourishes, but my god the presentation of it is immaculate. Such a strange, beguiling visual style - seems to be drawing on the likes of Alejandro Jodorowsky and Godard more than any more typical video game reference point.

https://youtu.be/PBogbLkAx6s?si=2aN35xgvkysqwRh2

johnny_ultimate

Seems Immortals of Aveum has performed pretty poorly. Between a terrible name, ludicrous PC system requirements and iffy reviews, that’s not a major surprise. Still, never nice to see a young studio forced to lay off dozens of people so soon after their debut game was released.

https://www.polygon.com/23873880/immortals-of-aveum-studio-layoff

Potential-Monke

That's a shame, cuz I'm really enjoying it. Name makes sense, he's an "Immortal", a class of magic users that are far above other magic users. They live in Aveum. They definitely went for fidelity over performance, and I think it suffers because of that. Stunning looking game at times, even on my upscaled 720p PS5 version. The magic combat is great craic, basically CoD with magic and special moves. Reminds me of the AW/IW games without the massive boosting. Story is grand, pretty good if you let yourself get into it. Plenty of lore, and the acting is pretty good overall. I'm near the end of my playthrough and I wouldn't mind another one down the line. I hope they can do some work on it, make it more PC hardware friendly even if it means cutting down on the visuals a good bit.