General gaming discussion

12-02-2022 11:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118623128#Comment_118623128

I don't hunt them, just whatever I pick up along the way.

J. Marston · 14-02-2022 6:59pm

Any recommendations for a good budget TV for a PS5? Want to get both the console and the telly for under a grand. So the telly somewhere between 300-400, if possible?

TitianGerm · 14-02-2022 7:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118630926#Comment_118630926

You'll be scaping the bottom of the barrel for a decent TV at that price. You won't get a decent size, it won't get bright enough and won't do 4K120.

I'd suggest making do with your current TV and putting a few bob away for a few months and getting something good.

DeSelby83 · 14-02-2022 8:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118623128#Comment_118623128

The Spartan cores and few other bits show up on the map once you claim the FOB in that location. Only found that out close to the end.

Grumpypants · 14-02-2022 8:58pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118630926#Comment_118630926

Hisense or the latest TLC (not the older cheaper panels). I've the Hisense, full back lit panel for local dimming. Check out a few reviews. You are in the lower end but still can get something half decent.

Markitron · 15-02-2022 9:11am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118630926#Comment_118630926

With that budget, you would be best going for a 43" LG 4K TV. The picture quality won't blow you away but they are fairly solid and feature complete. If you need something larger then you are going to have to spend more.

Retr0gamer · 17-02-2022 11:27am

X-Com 2 is not conductive to lowering stress levels and getting to sleep before 2 AM.

Markitron · 17-02-2022 1:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118645445#Comment_118645445

Loved the first one but the constant stress of the second was too much for me, they took it a bit too far.

Retr0gamer · 17-02-2022 1:44pm

I actually much prefer the second game. I was initially wary about the time limits but really they give you enough time to complete the objective. It's a psychological hurdle to get over.

Time limits, Permadeath and randomness for me are the three mechanics that turn people off games but make for really interesting game experiences. I'm guilty of holding off playing games because of them as well. And XCOM 2 has all three in spades.

Jordan 199 · 17-02-2022 2:50pm

Are they all Nintendo games in your in your signature, Retro?

The Raging Bile Duct · 17-02-2022 3:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118646683#Comment_118646683

Pretty sure Shinobi was Sega but that could be my memory being faulty.

Markitron · 17-02-2022 3:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118646245#Comment_118646245

It is the time limit that is the main barrier of entry for me, I play games to relax and they instantly introduce stress. Funny thing is it is very rare that a game will give you a limit that is really tight, at least not on a standard playthrough anyway, but the suggestion is usually enough to put me off.

johnny_ultimate · 17-02-2022 3:42pm

Getting to the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, but my god the game just doesn't know where to end. I'd say it'll probably be around 20 hours or so long by the time I finish, which is wayyyyy overstretched for a linear, cinematic action game. SO much of the gameplay is just strolling around corridors with very little going on, interrupted by tedious fights. There's enough good to just about convince me to push through, but jaysus the game has already had around two or three big climactic encounters / false endings.

It also has very weird balancing issues. Like I've got all the extra perks for Star Lord hours ago and there's nothing to do now with the mountains of currency I'm picking up.

Penn · 17-02-2022 3:45pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118646683#Comment_118646683

Xcom 2 was released on Switch, but I doubt that's what Retro is playing it on.

Markitron · 17-02-2022 3:46pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118647251#Comment_118647251

Did you upgrade the rest of the team too? I was pretty thorough going through that game and I only unlocked all the upgrades just before the end of the game.

If you mean the actual in-universe money you earn, that is more of a plot device than an actual working currency.

johnny_ultimate · 17-02-2022 3:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118647293#Comment_118647293

It's the workbench upgrades... have all 15 of them and still picking up hundreds and hundreds of components with no use.

I've unlocked all the team skills as well, and just waiting for Groot's ultimate to unlock as part of the story.

Markitron · 17-02-2022 3:53pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118647321#Comment_118647321

Ah right, yea completely forgot about them. Only a few were useful anyway, you spend 80% of your time in fights giving commands to the other characters so limiting those upgrades to only StarLord seemed a bit of a weird decision to me.

Game got a LOT of stuff right but there is massive room for improvement in the next one.

Retr0gamer · 17-02-2022 4:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118646683#Comment_118646683

Nope.

Playing X-Com 2 on PC.

Radiant Silvergun is a Sega Saturn game and GG Shinobi is a Game Gear game. Not playing anything Nintendo at the moment although I do want to get back to Guardian Legend on the NES.

Retr0gamer · 17-02-2022 4:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118647234#Comment_118647234

Well after giving the game a good go I think the time limits and Dark Advent meter really go a long way to making the game much better than the first game.

I also won't disagree with you. There's a reason that I'm only giving it a proper go now when I bought the game at launch and this is my third attempt to get into it.

Penn · 17-02-2022 4:32pm

I tried Xcom 2 a few weeks ago for the third time, but I just don't have the temperament for it. The abilities that some of the enemies have so early in the game versus the amount of work and time you have spend to start being able to properly upgrade your own weapons and abilities, coupled with the randomness of whether your attacks hit and the randomness of how much damage your attack does hit for. Then you move one of your guys to try and flank and end up bringing another group of enemies into the fight. And the missions where you have to save civiliians and straight away they're just being killed so much further up the map that you were never going to get to them anyway while your boss shouts at you about losing civilians, and then one of the civilians you do get to ends up being a big morphing dude...

Every part of that game is designed to randomly annoy me.

Markitron · 17-02-2022 4:38pm

I thought the Gears version of XCOM would provide a more casual alternative, spent about 4 hours without bother before the **** hit the fan and I was left in an unwinnable scenario and dropped that too.

17-02-2022 4:43pm

I just want the OG Xcom. Classic.

pixelburp · 17-02-2022 4:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118647693#Comment_118647693

In which case, you might be interested in Xenonauts 1/2 ...

https://store.steampowered.com/app/223830/Xenonauts/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/538030/Xenonauts_2/

johnny_ultimate · 17-02-2022 5:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118647357#Comment_118647357

For me it's a game with a lot of systems that don't necessarily gel well together or reach their full potential. The upgrades are a good example: a system that's there kinda just because of a (false) perception that a game like this 'needs' a bunch of upgrade / skill trees.

The huddle mechanic is a good, fun idea in principle, but just feels a bit haphazard in execution. I actually wish the designers had 'authored' a few more of the jukebox hit moments, as the game could definitely have used a few more novel combat encounters scattered throughout.

As I've said before, though, it's a good take on the characters and that does a lot of heavy lifting.

Grumpypants · 17-02-2022 5:17pm

I've cleared X-Com 2 about 4 times. Loved it, twice on PC and again twice on Switch. Trying to get into Pheonix Point now and struggling. The gameplay is really good and I like the aesthetic. But there is a lot of politics to manage outside of missions. Way more than the Xcom manage your base stuff.

You need to keep relationships with other groups, play them off each other, make deals and fight the enemy. It's much harder to break into than X-Com. I've tried a few times but still, I get a few hours in and just get overwhelmed.

Penn · 17-02-2022 5:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118647826#Comment_118647826

I think a lot of valid questions and arguments can be raised about that game, and in many ways they'll almost all be valid.

The real question though is who keeps leaving the fridge door open?

Retr0gamer · 17-02-2022 9:32pm

King of Fighters 15 is out and apparently it's one of the best fighting games in years. Looks really good in motion, although it's no where near as good looking as the arc system works games. Even has ray tracing!

wotzgoingon · 17-02-2022 11:49pm

I'm having a great time in Halo Infinite. I don't think I'm far into the main story as I'm going around the map and doing everything that is marked.

When I first heard about a open world Halo I was like how the hell would that work. It's also a bit harder than usual Halo's as in some enemies are a lot stronger than in previous games but the upgrades particularly the grapple when fully upgraded helps a lot dealing with the difficult ones.