What Are You Currently Playing? 6.65: Neighbor of the Beast

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'm a pretty big fan of the MachineGames Wolfenstein series (and I'm fairly certain I've sang its praises before ) so I'm glad you're liking TNO! You didn't mention it in your post but please be sure to play The Old Blood as well. The last segment is kind of eh (and the final boss is just bad) but the first half (more like two-thirds tbh) where you actually escape from Castle Wolfenstein is ridiculously good and probably my favorite part of the entire franchise. The way it keeps ramping up until it crescendos upon your exit is just masterclass game design and pacing.

I got it on the current PSN sale as part of a combo pack with The Old Blood. I spent $15 in total, which seems like a pretty good deal.

And now that you mention it, I suppose I do recall you raving about it a few years ago. This was a 2014 game if I'm not mistaken, so I wouldn't have had a console to play it on at that time and thus probably wasn't paying attention to the good reception for this game since it wasn't on my radar at the time.

Also, yeah, the game is amazing. It's everything I want in a modern FPS. I feel like kicking myself for not getting into it sooner; though the same could be said for 2016's DOOM, which I really want to play but have to hold off on for now.

This is also, now that I really think about it, a way better example of how to do an alternate timeline story than in BioShock: Infinite. If you recall, that game was an absolute slog for me to get through (I don't even think I bothered to finish the final level), and I was absolutely perplexed as to how the game was getting such unanimous praise when it was full of bad game design decisions that limited combat options more than in previous entries and bogged down the pacing with unskippable story segments that were far too drawn out for their own good (not to mention how full of obvious gaping plot holes said story was). Keep in mind that this is also coming from someone who loved the first BioShock and even enjoyed BioShock 2 despite it being a clear rehash. While I obviously haven't even finished a single playthrough of it yet, TNO already intrigued me more on how different decisions that affect the story can be made on subsequent playthroughs. While those overall changes may be minor, story focus clearly doesn't impede the flow of gameplay or the game design when it comes to diverse combat options.

The New Colossus is a different beast entirely. I personally love it, but it's a lot more narrative-heavy, with many more cutscenes than TNO. This didn't bother me because the writing, acting, and directing are far superior to the majority of video games and I was really invested in BJ's story, but it's something that a lot of people hate.

I've actually really been enjoying the story in this game so far. It has some scripted-heavy moments but they don't predominate the game. It's proof that games can tell compelling stories perfectly fine through traditional cutscenes rather than by forcing exposition dumps on us in the middle of gameplay on a constant basis, disrupting any sense of flow. I'm sure I will definitely play New Colossus, and if more story comes in the form of more cutscenes I'm OK with that. I'm just hoping that the narrative doesn't constantly interrupt gameplay in a form that can't be skipped on replays.

[Foggle]

I thought you played Doom 4 already! I think you'll like that game a whole lot too, it's really great. The level design and gameplay mechanics are incredible, and the way it handles the story is seriously inspired. Eternal looks so good.

I just really liked BioShock Infinite at the time because I thought riding around on the rails shooting dudes was a lot of fun. The shotgun in that game was actually pretty satisfying but most of the other guns sucked. I enjoyed the story a lot on my first playthrough but it doesn't really hold up on replays like Wolfenstein's does. Honestly, I feel kind of the same way about BioShock 1 - I really, really loved it when it came out, but replaying it a few years ago, it just doesn't do anything for me anymore. I don't know if you played Burial At Sea but I thought it was atrocious. Gameplay felt like a weak attempt at recreating the original game with BSI's combat system and the story was downright insulting, retconning events from the entire trilogy haphazardly to try and piece everything together. I kind of stopped caring about the series completely after that.

I'm not sure if it's exclusive to the PC version or if they patched it in, as I've seen a lot of people complain about them, but you can definitely skip the cutscenes in Wolf2 (except the goddamn helicopter taking off for side missions, ugh). It does have unskippable scripted narrative moments as well but I don't think they're any more numerous than the ones in the first game - they might be a little longer sometimes, though? Anyway, I think it does suffer from middle-of-trilogy syndrome a bit in terms of both game design and story but I still really liked it and was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Just a heads-up, I think the Fergus character/storyline is a lot more interesting than the Wyatt one, especially in the sequel.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I'd say that while BioShock 1 isn't mechanically that great, it has more interesting level design than Infinite, as well as more creative uses of abilities. For example, you can plant a bunch of trip mines on a single object and then use telekinesis to blast it at enemies, in some instances being able to one-shot Big Daddies. The whole emphasis of that game was to creatively use weapons, items, and abilities together rather than play it as a traditional FPS. It does show it's age in a number of ways, of course, but at least it has something that makes it feel unique.

Infinite pretty much scraps all of that in favor of making a standard shooter with more forced story segments, so even if the first game may not hold up for you, I'd still make the argument that it's a far more admirable attempt at something genuinely interesting than Infinite ever was, which just pandered to a market that was easily impressed by good visuals (at the time) and a pretentious story without any real depth or substance to back it.

This video does a phenomenal job of tearing the game to shreds and how gaming journalists were easily suckered to buy into it's hype and allure: https://youtu.be/VdNhwb7iuI4

[Foggle]

I'll need to watch that later! The original BioShock was definitely a more interesting and ambitious game in a lot of ways, and my fondness for it held much longer than my fondness for Infinite.

Here's a really good video about The New Colossus (don't watch until you've played all the games though!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGhFBupwfdU. It does a fantastic job articulating my thoughts on it and goes into depth about its messier aspects. Made me both appreciate it a lot more and also understand why some people disliked it so much. Definitely worth a watch regardless of your feelings in the end.

[Foggle]

I restarted Youngblood a second time, bumping it back up to Normal difficulty again, and while I still think certain aspects of it are bizarrely stupid, I'm finally enjoying it; in fact, the more I play it, the more I like it! It makes a pretty poor first impression, and if you're playing it as a single-player game you definitely need to know exactly which skills to invest in first, but it opens up a lot in the second level and quickly becomes a ton of fun. The level design is great and areas are very fun to explore (thank you Arkane!), and the combat is just as satisfying as the previous titles once you get a couple of weapon upgrades. Overall, I still think the other three games are better, but it's winning me over at a rapid pace. It has a lot of negative user reviews and word of mouth surrounding it, but I'm pretty sure most of the people talking trash about it dropped it an hour or so in (perhaps understandably, but still).

Youngblood's coolest feature (which I haven't seen a single person bring up anywhere) is Wolfstone: Die Neue Ordnung, an arcade machine available in the hub area. The New Colossus featured Wolfstone 3D, a reskin of Wolfenstein 3D replacing BJ with "Elite Hans," the Nazis with Allied soldiers, and Hitler with BJ himself, which was a nice little atmospheric touch. The version in this game is an in-universe sequel, featuring two entirely original Wolf3D episodes made from scratch by MachineGames! As a fan of the old Wolfenstein games as well, finding this was honestly incredible, and I probably won't be getting back to the main story until I've beaten the whole thing!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Good to know that you like it! I've been noticing a lot of reviews on my YouTube page (from fans more than journalists) calling it garbage, but it could just be people overreacting to this spin-off being taken in a very different direction than the rest of the series.

[Foggle]

It's definitely an acquired taste and not going to be for everyone, and at first I really didn't like it much myself, but it's growing on me a lot. "Garbage" is pure hyperbole resulting from the presence of microtransactions (which are literally only used for ugly gun and player skins, completely unnoticeable in single-player) and its multiplayer/RPG-esque nature. As a game, it's actually not bad at all - it's just not what most people probably wanted, meaning the hate for it is understandable but seriously overblown. People will probably come around on it once the proper Wolfenstein 3 releases (like I did on RE5 once 7 and REmake 2 came out).

[Mustang]

Playing Persona 5 yet again, at least until I get my hands on Royal.

Mainly been watching a lot of Guilty Gear though. My Hit Box will be arriving some time next week, and with the announcement of a new Guilty Gear I've just been giddy (I will not use this word again) to get back into it. I think I saw something where all the characters who'll be in it was either leaked or announced and Johnny will be making a return.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Been playing DOOM 3 on my Switch.

Been gone a while, guys. Good to see you.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

SPARK!

[Foggle]

I missed you pal!

I actually just played through Doom 3 recently too! On PC, before the Switch version was announced, but still.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I haven't played through DOOM 3 since the original XBOX, but I remember liking it well enough back then (it was actually my first game in the series). I've wanted to replay the original, as well as finally play DOOM II, but I'm having trouble running it on my current laptop. It's obviously not a gaming laptop but you wouldn't need one to run an MSDOS emulator (which is essentially what the Steam version uses), but it keeps crashing on my PC anyways. The funny thing is that I was able to run older games like this without issue on my much shittier laptop from a several years ago with Windows Vista still installed on it. Maybe the emulator isn't as compatible with Windows 10 for some reason? Anyways, I looked into it and apparently I may have to tweak some settings to get it to run properly on a modern PC, but I'm usually pretty terrible at that.

[Avaitor]

 

Also, I didn't know DOOM 3 was on the Switch. I was hoping to get the new one for my birthday, though.

[Avaitor]

I finally got around to fini... well, not finishing, since I still have a lot of shrines, sidequest, and Korok seeds to collect, but I beat Calamity Ganon last night. Breath of the Wild's reputation as an all-timer is absolutely deserved IMO.

That was a hell of a final fight, too. I'm surprised that I didn't die during the first act, but I had a lot of leftover food to heal me, which I ate after every hit, and I also took every opportunity to hit and dodge/fury that I could. The second part with Link on the horse got me a few times though, especially with that one strike beam of Ganon's. But I did like how good timing helped to make each blow matter. I'm also glad that I took advice and got all of the captured memories, since apparently I'd get less of an ending if I didn't.

I'm going to put the game on hold for a little, maybe hook up my Playstation Classic, but I intend to go back and finish a lot of what I didn't. I honestly just loved exploring the world and could go around everywhere for hours on end. That's the best kind of open-ended game,

[Mustang]

I really need to get back to Breath of the Wild.

Anyway, Dragon Ball Fighterz been seeing bits of play from me. I haven't tried out Janemba yet and I just bought GT Goku. I know people are saying that GT Goku should be banned, but I've never been for banning characters. This notion of banning characters boggles my mind. I only know of Akuma being banned in Super Turbo and I wasn't even around for that, and to take it to SF5 real quick, I see people whining about Karen now. This notion of Nerf this, ban this kills my interest. This makes me respect people like Smug even more because, yes, he complains about the character every now and then, but he's always in training mode, and I think people just don't want to put in the work anymore. They want everything handed to them or in this case, they want said character nerfed to the ground, and it's like, whatever happened to actually going to the lab to figure out how to get out of said situation.

Enough of that tangent. Hit is still my main (might actually be Adult Gohan) and I've been watching a lot of Lord Knight videos and he's been making me think a lot lately. Right now the teams I'm working on is Hit, Trunks, SSJ Vegeta and Adult Gohan/Teen Gohan, GT Goku, SSJ Vegeta which ultimately might turn into Hit, A.Gohan/Bardock, SSJ Vegeta.

Also, I did see Gogeta at Tokyo Game Show and as soon as he comes out I think I might drop Hit. Hell, my team might turn into Gogeta, Vegito, ??. Anyway, just had the urge to jump back into the game along with BBCTB.