The Video Games Thread

[RanVor]

Being a TES fan (sort of), I can confirm that the series isn't really of high quality in terms of execution. However, a lot of people including me love it mostly for its lore and canon ambiguity. Everything is subjective from the start, so you can find lots of interesting interpretations of books, dialogues and game events and consider them all canon. Take The 36 Lessons of Vivec, for example. Was it written by Vivec himself? What in his sermons is true and what is propaganda? Did he actually achieve CHIM? All we can do is guess, and I think it's great. But unmodded Skyrim is garbage, yes.

Now, regarding the actual topic: I've seen many favorable reviews both in Russian and English and I think your post finally convinced me to try Gothic out! With the expansion, of course . But why didn't you mention Gothic 3? I know it's very different from the first two games, but is it that terrible? Also, what do you think of the remake so far?

Well, I haven't actually played Gothic 3 with the community patch, which supposedly turns it into a decent game (as opposed to the buggy, broken mess it used to be), but in general, the game actually feels a lot like TES to me - a massive world with a lot of content, but very little of it is actually meaningful. Also, the combat system is pathetic and the world is pretty inconsistent with previously established lore. It's playable, but nowhere near the level of its predecessors.

As for the remake, I haven't played it myself (I don't have a Steam copy), but from what I heard, it has little in common with the original Gothic. It might still change, but I don't think it will. Modern audiences seem to value convenience over immersion.

If you really intend to jump straight into the Night of the Raven, a word of advice: be sure to practice the controls a bit before leaving the tower and getting into a fight. Also, save often - the main character starts as a pushover and, in the NotR, remains a pushover for a pretty long time.

As a side note - in Gothic 2, there's a certain NPC in the town who, if left alone, recites a creation myth to people gathered before him. If you care to listen to it in full, it can be interpreted as related to the main plot of the series in a few different ways - or not at all. It can be pretty fascinating for people interested in such things.

[thegreyarea]

Ran, thanks for bringing it up! Your description made me want to find those. I do love immersion and consistency in games.
I only tried Gothic 3, and for a brief time. I don't recall why it was brief, but I do recall that it had some interesting things that I haven't seen before, like the day-night cycle and the need to rest, or the NPC's reactions. I also recall that the combat system was terrible, making you want to just use the bow to avoid using the sword. But then it was a brief experience.

My experience with TES wasn't brief, which implies that I like it (particularly Skyrin), but it does have many flaws. One of the most irritating is the constant scaling of your enemies that makes most of your (hard-earned) progress (way) less effective. Another is the complex chain of side-quests that almost forces you to take notes.

Now speaking of something completely different in terms of combat, did you (or anybody) tried "Dark Messiah"? Not exactly an RPG (but have some elements of the genre). It's more like a FPS. But the combat part was really fun, letting you use your hands, weapons and shields in a meaningful way, magic and the environment (makes you think in Half-life 2 or Portal in some parts where you can be quite creative on your ways to fight). I'll let a video of it.

[RanVor]

My contact with Dark Messiah was long ago and very brief. I don't remember the exact reasons for that, but it might have had something to do with the fact that plotwise, it's a sequel to Heroes of Might and Magic V, which I have a very low opinion on (it's my least favorite game in the series by far, and one of my least favorite games in general). I might return to it someday, though. Maybe I'll be able to ignore the plot for long enough to actually finish it.

The other thing I wanted to say is that I really appreciate your choice of review. I love MandaloreGaming. He always goes out of his way to find some positives even in the crappiest games *cough*Fire Warrior*cough*, but also doesn't hesitate to criticize the aspects that are genuinely bad.

[Kis]

If you really intend to jump straight into the Night of the Raven, a word of advice: be sure to practice the controls a bit before leaving the tower and getting into a fight. Also, save often - the main character starts as a pushover and, in the NotR, remains a pushover for a pretty long time.

As a side note - in Gothic 2, there's a certain NPC in the town who, if left alone, recites a creation myth to people gathered before him. If you care to listen to it in full, it can be interpreted as related to the main plot of the series in a few different ways - or not at all. It can be pretty fascinating for people interested in such things.

Noted!

As for Dark Messiah, it's been a very long time since I completed it (5-6 years maybe?), but I do remember how fascinated I was with its combat system. Maybe it's time for a replay... ah, so many good games and so little time..

Oh, and I am also grateful for mentioning Mandalore. It's rare to see a person so dedicated (I mean, just look at his recent Total War Warhammer 2 review) and objective and I'm happy that his work doesn't go unnoticed.

[thegreyarea]

My contact with Dark Messiah was long ago and very brief. I don't remember the exact reasons for that, but it might have had something to do with the fact that plotwise, it's a sequel to Heroes of Might and Magic V, which I have a very low opinion on (it's my least favorite game in the series by far, and one of my least favorite games in general). I might return to it someday, though. Maybe I'll be able to ignore the plot for long enough to actually finish it.

The other thing I wanted to say is that I really appreciate your choice of review. I love MandaloreGaming. He always goes out of his way to find some positives even in the crappiest games *cough*Fire Warrior*cough*, but also doesn't hesitate to criticize the aspects that are genuinely bad.

The plot of Dark Messiah is not very original, but worked fine enough to me. I never played "Heroes..." (lucky me, it seems) so my approach to the game wasn't affected by it, however it never feels like "a part of something bigger that you should know to understand the plot".
It's a fun game, well worth your time. Just a little demanding, sometimes, in terms of fast finger coordination...

As for Mandalore, I just discovered it when searching for the "Dark Messiah" video. here I am being lucky again! It has good reviews, covering some older games with humour and objectivity (which are both highly valuable things). I'd suggest the review of SHOGO - mobile armor division, particularly if you played it (I was surprised to find that someone else did play it...). I'll save you the time and leave the link here

[RanVor]

The plot of Dark Messiah is not very original, but worked fine enough to me. I never played "Heroes..." (lucky me, it seems) so my approach to the game wasn't affected by it, however it never feels like "a part of something bigger that you should know to understand the plot".
It's a fun game, well worth your time. Just a little demanding, sometimes, in terms of fast finger coordination...

I'll make sure to give it a try, thanks! Meanwhile, if you'd like to know the plot of Heroes V (not necessarily worth knowing, but...), then I recommend this blog for a relatively non-painful experience and laughs.

And Kis, you can PM me if you'd like some tips from a veteran to make your first (because, unless you get put off right away, I can pretty much guarantee it won't be the last... ) playthrough much smoother. Same goes for everybody who intends to play Gothic for the first time, of course.

[Auxivele]

Anyone want to talk Fire Emblem with me? No takers? OK.

I have yet to play Shadows of Valentia or Three Houses, but I've started replaying the Tellius games and may finally finish Sacred Stones. I was debating buying the Fates routes I never played, but ultimately I decided that I'm not quite that desperate yet. I haven't played much in years so while I'm really enjoying it, the permadeath is kicking my butt and I take forever to complete a level. It's funny how much I love strategy games considering my method of playing has always been basically "buttonsmash until dead" which is not the most strategic play style.

[RanVor]

Anyone want to talk Fire Emblem with me? No takers? OK.

I'd love to talk Fire Emblem with you, but alas, I've never played it, so...

[thegreyarea]

Auxivele, I also would like to, but I never played any of the games you mentioned.

On strategy all that comes to mind are RTS like Command&Conquer (good old times...) and the Total War series, that I really love to play...
*remembers that has a campaign in Rome 2 paused for months*
*remembers that can't go back to it now because there's a lot of things to do*
*sighs*

[Auxivele]

Auxivele, I also would like to, but I never played any of the games you mentioned.

Oh which ones have you played? There are a bunch of games that I played on friends' consoles but never finished, so I'm taking advantage of being stuck inside to do just that. Unfortunately I've never played the games you've mentioned, but looking them up did remind me that I have several partially completed games of Civ V to finish. Eventually.

[thegreyarea]

Oh which ones have you played? There are a bunch of games that I played on friends' consoles but never finished, so I'm taking advantage of being stuck inside to do just that. Unfortunately I've never played the games you've mentioned, but looking them up did remind me that I have several partially completed games of Civ V to finish. Eventually.

It would be a looong list. I'm almost 50, so I've been around since things like Atari consoles, and I remember playing things like Prince of Persia, Doom and Wolfenstein 3D on MSDOS machines...
A short list of things not that old... Half-life, Portal, Crysis, Far Cry, Deus Ex, Skyrin, Dishonored, Mass Effect, Ghost Recon, Homeworld, Deserts of Karhak, Total War... among many others.
All of them on Single-player, since I like to set my time and pace (sometimes playing at the end of a working day, sometimes not playing at all for a month or more...) Never played any Civ, though. The closest one was Caesar III (and IV, but briefly).
Also all of them on PC.
Right now I'm not playing much, because there's lot's of work and other daily things to do, and also other things (like writing) slowly took a good part of games place. However I still have quite a list of things that I'd like to play, including Ranvor's suggested Gothic or Surviving Mars...
And you?

[ftmshepard]

Hello! Wanted to introduce myself by saying that I am finally playing Halo, because everything is plague narratives for me at the moment!

thegreyarea Mass Effect is amazing. What is Homeworld? That sounds interesting.

[thegreyarea]

Hello! Wanted to introduce myself by saying that I am finally playing Halo, because everything is plague narratives for me at the moment!

thegreyarea Mass Effect is amazing. What is Homeworld? That sounds interesting.

Hello Shep (it's shep that you used, right? If you prefer the full user name please tell. BTW you can call me just Grey, it's easier to type   )
I just tried Halo (the first one) once, many many years ago. It seemed interesting, but for some reason I never dedicated time to it... And yes, Mass Effect is amazing, although I'm still to play the third one (but played twice both ME 1 and 2). Did you play ME 3? Do you recommend it?

Homeworld is a RTS in spaaaace! Very very well done. So far IIRC there's 4 games in the series: Homeworld, Homeworld Cataclysm, Homeworld 2 and Homeworld Deserts of Karhak. Cataclysm didn't receive much love from players so I skipped it, but the original game and 2 are brilliant and a must have to any one that likes RTS, space battles that are really in 3D, great art and interesting stories. Oh, and also hitting the "pause" button many times to issue orders, unless you have some superhuman abilities. Deserts of Karhak is the latest one (the others exist in "remastered" versions with excellent visuals) but chronologicaly is a prequel, roughly a century before the events in the first game. It's also quite fun, but it's not in space (as the name imply). I highly recommend starting by the remasterd version of the original game.
Here's the link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeworld

[ftmshepard]

Yeah, Shep is good, thank you Grey!

And ooooo that sounds excellent.

I really loved Mass Effect 3! I would highly recommend it. 2 is probably my favorite, but 3 is also really really good.

And Halo is a very specific sort of best, and the first game is even more specific, so I totally get that.

[itstricky]

Anyone out there playing/have played any of the Persona games? I would give a description but they can be kind of hard to describe, and the plots vary widely from game to game, though they are all connected. If your looking for an elaborate emotional journey, nice world building and fairly challenging fight scenes (though you can opt to have easy or "safe" difficultly level) then this might be a great game to looks into. Ive played 3/4/5 but they recently put Persona 4 on the PC so i've been playing it in Japanese so that I can finally call playing video games "studying"