General gaming discussion

recyclops

I have it loaded on Steam Deck but have been hooked on Dave the Diver and SM Wonder so its on the ever growing backlog, The only complaint I hear is that its true to the original so much at times it feels linear.

McFly85

Yeah it’s in the ever growing pile alright, played a couple of hours before getting hooked in BG3. Combat is dated, but exploration and unlocking levels is still brilliant and feels like something that would never be attempted today without the main character blurting out clues every 5 seconds.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121622164#Comment_121622164

It's very true to the original but it's far from linear just like the original. The levels are pretty sprawling that complex. I think you might mean claustrophobic as the corridors and areas of the game are quite small and so far follow the level layouts from original game religiously. Not a bad thing though as the original game was very well designed with some wonderful level design.

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121620291#Comment_121620291

I still am blown away by the beauty of TOTK/BOTW, Super Mario 3D World, ... they've got artistic geniuses in Nintendo who can work miracles on their hardware.

Penn

Started the new Prince of Persia last night. Liking it so far anyway. Feels very fluid, combat is enjoyable and not too difficult yet anyway, some tricky enough traversal/traps but doesn't feel like it has to be pixel-perfect either.

Looking forward to playing more.

McFly85

PoP is brilliant, got a good few hours in yesterday. Doesn’t reinvent the wheel, everything you’d expect from the genre is present and correct, but it executes everything pretty much flawlessly.

Traversing the map is enjoyable in itself, combat is fantastic - even early in the game there’s a good enemy variety, and they can’t all be dealt with in the same way. The boss fights so far have been great too. Definitely looking to get back to it.

marcbrophy

What is the gameplay loop of Dave the Diver?

There's diving, then selling the catch in a kinda bar area?

The bar area gives me Catherine vibes, is there anything to that? 🤔

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623322#Comment_121623322

There's a story and ruins to explore. It's a bit like subnautica in its loop.

marcbrophy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623512#Comment_121623512

Oh okay, nice one!

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121622817#Comment_121622817

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623127#Comment_121623127

Wait, is it already out? Cos my UK/IE page says the 18th..

McFly85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623557#Comment_121623557

One of the pre order bonuses was to get access 3 days ahead of the official release.

johnny_ultimate

‘X days early access!’ - one of the more irritating trends of modern game publishing.

Retr0gamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623617#Comment_121623617

Who needs to produce day one DLC when these dumb dumbs will pay to play the game early of we hold it back a week or two.

Corvo

Have been really enjoying Teardown, lovely little gameplay loop and room for plenty of creativity.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623629#Comment_121623629

I’m really not a fan of Microsoft pushing it for GamePass subscribers. While it’s a way of increasing their revenue on new releases, the idea of people paying a premium for ‘early access’ and not having any actual ownership rights for the game after those five days elapse sits badly with me (even when DLC is usually bundled in too).

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623557#Comment_121623557

I was a bit confused about it myself because I had the 15th in my head but when I saw it on the PS Store it had the clock icon on it. Said I'd just buy it there and then for pre-loading etc, but then saw the game was playable once it downloaded.

Cordell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121623617#Comment_121623617

At least after X days everyone still gets it. But PS/XB exclusives which are exclusives simply because Sony/MS wants them to be are the worst.

SuperBowserWorld

Will grab PoP in a sale.

Penn

My main complaint about PoP thus far is, a few more fast travel points wouldn't have gone amiss. Its not that going back through areas is overly challenging, but if anything it just feels like artificial time-padding.

Other than that I've spent most of the evening playing, and still really enjoying it. A few new powers and abilities really start to open up some great puzzles.

PixelPlayer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121624641#Comment_121624641

This is the way. I considered Ubisoft+ for a split second. They've a few games that interest me: PoP, S&B and AC:Mirage.

But at €17.99 it's a fat no from me. Probably not bad considering there are 3 games I want to play and considering I might not like some/all of them. But it jist seems expensive and my home budget is already bursting with subscription fees.

recyclops

Another reason why gameshare for digital purposes is a must for Gaming, every game is basically half price from day one

johnny_ultimate

Interesting thread here from the head of Larian on his concerns around subscription models. I would absolutely agree with him on it: while there's a place for subscription services, the idea of a handful of corporate gatekeepers deciding what does / doesn't get funded and released is one that comes with quite significant risks, especially if it becomes the dominant model. Hence why the 'traditional' ownership model - while it comes with its own problems - absolutely shouldn't go away (and philosophically I'll always be in favour of a model that doesn't involve a company being able to take your game away due to a licensing agreement or whatever). And Baldur's Gate 3 is as good an example of any of a game thriving because Larian released it on their own terms.

https://twitter.com/LarAtLarian/status/1747556874562457799?s=20

PixelPlayer

I was all in on game pass to be honest. I did the 3 year stack and it just felt like amazing value. I only had to play (and enjoy) 2 games a year to make a saving over purchasing. If a game is really special and I want to own it I can still do that, but the vast majority are throwaway when finished never to be played again.

But having said that, I let my sub expire. Very simply it is a subscription I can quite comfortably live without. I can pick up the select few games that interest me on a big discount. I'll wait 1,2,3 years I don't mind.

COD could change.my mind. On average I would buy every second one. If I'm going to be spending €65 (which is usually the cheapest you'll get it) on a game I might as well stretch a bit more subscribe and get the full game pass library. You can even get 8 months for €45 using regional gift cards of you are lucky with availability.

quokula

When you look at most MS first party in recent times - Redfall was a disaster from a previously highly acclaimed dev, Starfield was a backwards step from what Bethesda were doing a decade ago, Forza Motorsport was arguably the worst game Turn 10 has put out in the series, Halo Infinite failed to meet expectations etc - there is clearly something going on where day one Gamepass games are either not getting the budget or the incentives right to put their best foot forward, even from well respected devs with excellent past records.

There have been exceptions like Hifi Rush (a relatively small scale game) and Forza Horizon (which shoves ads for DLC and MTX in your face constantly), but for the most part the service is being carried by excellent Indie games (who would never maintain the subscribership alone) and third party stuff like Yakuza and Hitman (which would never have the development budget they do if not for releasing at full price and on other platforms before recouping some more money on Gamepass later)

In the long term it just doesn't seem like subscription services provide the right model for well funded games that set out to go the extra mile and innovate and entice players to buy them, rather than be just good enough to fill a slot in the game list. Something a little cheaper that bundles up older games that have already made their sales along with Indies who could use the exposure might be more palatable but there's probably not a mass market for that.

CatInABox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121628139#Comment_121628139

Wasn't Game Pass that caused these issues, Redfall was in development before it was bought by MS, and the decisions that made it the way it was were taken before the acquisition. Starfield, the same, the design decisions were taken on that before acquisition. Halo Infinite, that's a different kettle of fish, but again, the design decisions that caused that game to come in under expectations aren't related to Game Pass. I don't know much about Forza Motorsport, to be fair.

The problem that MS games has is actually quite complex, hard to pin down any one thing. In Redfalls case, that should have been cancelled, with the team put on to something that they actually wanted to make, but Bethesda wanted to keep going. Starfield, MS delayed it to make sure it was bug free, but that's long after the design decisions that made the game what it is. Halo Infinite, an insane decision to have most of the staff to be two year contractors meant that there was no stored knowledge, with people only getting to grips with a custom engine before being moved on.

Huge issues at MS on the development front, and I'm not sure if senior management are up to the task of running such a huge creative organisation.

Jordan 199

Ace Combat 7 is a great game.

JimBurnley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121630254#Comment_121630254

Not so sure. We've spent many a Days Gone debating this

johnny_ultimate

Is there an option to block words on boards.ie? Looking to block ‘Ace Combat’ and ‘Days Gone’ ✈️ 🏍️

Cordell

Combat Days: Ace Gone - greatest game never made.

Jordan 199

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121630327#Comment_121630327

Having an airplane and a motorbike in your post is a lovely touch.

Anyway, you could always put those game names in the swear filter.

D**s G**e and A*e C****t 7.