2023 Video Games Thread

[GrantDawg]

Manor Lords comes put in a couple of weeks, and from the few people who have played the full game, it sounds like it is going to live up to ots hype.

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[Atocep]

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 was announced today and apparently releases later this year. I absolutely loved the first one so this great to hear.

[RainMaker]

I need to try the first game again. I bought it near release and it was slow and buggy from what I remember. Did it get some updates over the years?

Saw it described as Skyrim without all the magic stuff which seems right up my alley.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I need to try the first game again. I bought it near release and it was slow and buggy from what I remember. Did it get some updates over the years?

Saw it described as Skyrim without all the magic stuff which seems right up my alley.

It got patched into pretty good shape. The sword fighting is far more realistic than most games and takes some time get a grasp of.

Overall the story isn't what I would call dark, but it's far more realistic than most other medieval RPGs. It took me a couple of tries to really get into to it, but it eventually really stuck for me. The characters are interesting and the game is well written.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Atocep

It got patched into pretty good shape. The sword fighting is far more realistic than most games and takes some time get a grasp of.

Alas, I figured out fairly quickly that I was unlikely to ever get the hang of it. It ended up as one of those games I was (for a bit) better suited to just watch LetsPlays of than to actually play.

There's a line between reasonable and too difficult and for me and my own limited skill set it landed on the wrong side of the line. #SoundsLikeAPersonalProblem

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Alas, I figured out fairly quickly that I was unlikely to ever get the hang of it. It ended up as one of those games I was (for a bit) better suited to just watch LetsPlays of than to actually play.

There's a line between reasonable and too difficult and for me and my own limited skill set it landed on the wrong side of the line. #SoundsLikeAPersonalProblem

I spent a lot of time with the sword trainer learning how to not look like a moron and get killed. What I found interesting and fun is I got to the point that I was decent. I could mow down bandits and others. But every now and then I'd run into a knight or some other opponent that was obviously better than me and it took less than 5 seconds to recognize it. And it wasn't because his stats were better, he just did everything better than me.

That's not everyone's cup of tea. It wasn't mine the first time I tried.

I would say it's not really anything like skyrim. I'd say maybe more like Witcher 1 without the magic and monsters and in a small open world. It's got some clunkiness to it but the things it does right it nails.

[Izulde]

I've still been slow-playing Ghost of Tsushima in the scant free time I have (which is averaging about once a week I'm able to sit down and get some playtime in). Really enjoying it thus far even though I'm currently stuck on an obnoxious stealth mission.

Rise of the Ronin is also on my eventual getlist though it'll be a while since I'm determined to finish GoT first.

[Ghost Econ]

Same started GoT, im lucky if I get 20 minutes every couple of weeks. I have games I want to play, I just can't find time and don't want to just constantly switch between games.

[GrantDawg]

Total War: Star Wars is in development at Creative Assembly. They could take my money now if they wanted.

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[dubb93]

WWE 2k24 is fully embracing the money sink now it appears. They are releasing updated versions of Roman Reigns and The Rock and they are only obtainable through MyFaction which is basically the games version of ultimate team or whatever you want to call it.

Worse though it seems they are only obtainable by acquiring another specific card, in the case of Roman you need to get a Sapphire Sami Zayn to unlock Roman.

Ofcourse you can buy 70k of in-game currency for $20 and then flip that into packs of cards that cost either 12k or 17k depending on the rarity you want to buy. Each pack guarantees "atleast" 1 superstar and up to 4 accessories.

Finally, there are 10 different card rarities in the game as well as basically every current superstar or legend you could think of that isn't signed with AEW. And you are specifically hunting a Sapphire Sami Zayn from one of the damn packs.

It wouldn't be nearly as bad if they didn't have these damn wrestlers show up in the wrestler selection every time greyed out. So I'm having to explain to my kids why despite paying $100 for the premium version of the game at launch they can't have 2024 Roman Reigns or The Rock. Yes, I know you can download something similar in the community creations but these are kids and they don't understand. If you are going to add new wrestler models or wrestlers period, they should be in the damn base game or included with the season pass.

[Mota]

Originally Posted by dubb93

WWE 2k24 is fully embracing the money sink now it appears. They are releasing updated versions of Roman Reigns and The Rock and they are only obtainable through MyFaction which is basically the games version of ultimate team or whatever you want to call it.

Worse though it seems they are only obtainable by acquiring another specific card, in the case of Roman you need to get a Sapphire Sami Zayn to unlock Roman.

Ofcourse you can buy 70k of in-game currency for $20 and then flip that into packs of cards that cost either 12k or 17k depending on the rarity you want to buy. Each pack guarantees "atleast" 1 superstar and up to 4 accessories.

Finally, there are 10 different card rarities in the game as well as basically every current superstar or legend you could think of that isn't signed with AEW. And you are specifically hunting a Sapphire Sami Zayn from one of the damn packs.

It wouldn't be nearly as bad if they didn't have these damn wrestlers show up in the wrestler selection every time greyed out. So I'm having to explain to my kids why despite paying $100 for the premium version of the game at launch they can't have 2024 Roman Reigns or The Rock. Yes, I know you can download something similar in the community creations but these are kids and they don't understand. If you are going to add new wrestler models or wrestlers period, they should be in the damn base game or included with the season pass.

Gaming in 2024 sucks. It really does. Games exist more as a money extraction tool, rather than a source of entertainment.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Mota

Gaming in 2024 sucks. It really does. Games exist more as a money extraction tool, rather than a source of entertainment.

Part of it is because as the cost to make games has skyrocketed, the cost to buy games has remained fairly steady. An SNES game, in today's dollars would be something like $130.

Corporate greed runs deep and is frustrating when microtransactions are poorly implemented, but game prices were pretty crazy until the PS2 era.

[dubb93]

The reason why videogames don’t cost $130 is because videogame companies are in the business of selling videogames which they wouldn’t at $130. It isn’t the consumers fault that they can’t control their own costs. These companies that can’t create games on any kind of budget at all are going to go out of business in the next 10 years.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by dubb93

WWE 2k24 is fully embracing the money sink now it appears. They are releasing updated versions of Roman Reigns and The Rock and they are only obtainable through MyFaction which is basically the games version of ultimate team or whatever you want to call it.

The chase for cards is really the only thing truly engaging about modern sports console titles.

Madden? Check.
Show? Check.
NHL? Check.

I figure NBA is the same, I don't know that I'd expect anything different from a wrestling game.

Whether NCAA Football turns out to be different, honestly, remains to be seen. And if it does, once the new wears off, I figure it'll be the same.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by dubb93

The reason why videogames don’t cost $130 is because videogame companies are in the business of selling videogames which they wouldn’t at $130. It isn’t the consumers fault that they can’t control their own costs. These companies that can’t create games on any kind of budget at all are going to go out of business in the next 10 years.

You also don't have to buy the microfransactions if you don't want them. That essentially the opposite end of the argument and if people weren't buying them they wouldn't be as popular for publishers to add to games as they are.

You either pay an increased up front cost or you live with microtransactions.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by Atocep

You either pay an increased up front cost or you live with microtransactions.

OK? I literally said we paid an increased amount up front. Where does charging more up front and then introducing micro transactions fall into this?

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by Mota

Gaming in 2024 sucks. It really does. Games exist more as a money extraction tool, rather than a source of entertainment.

I think for AAA console games this is the case. But I'd argue that PC gaming is as good as its ever been. There's so many good games that come out from smaller or medium sized studios. Their graphics are catching up.

Sports games are dead but if your into a strategy or survival game, there are so many to choose from. Even decent RPGs on PC coming out weekly.

[Brian Swartz]

I agree. There's more choices than ever; too many, by far. It's hard to find many of the good games which isn't great, but there are many of them to be found.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by dubb93

OK? I literally said we paid an increased amount up front. Where does charging more up front and then introducing micro transactions fall into this?

I believe that's called profitability. And that's why folks go to work.

The era of "oh we make games cause we want to, it's not about getting rich" is pretty well over -- for both developers AND progammers -- every bit as much as it is for "content creators".

I spent exponentially more time with YouTube when everything wasn't produced by people trying to make their living making videos, and oddly enough I spent more time on console games (and PC games for that matter) when everybody wasn't trying to retire in their 30s by making them.

[Brian Swartz]

That's unjustifiably cynical IMO. The landscape has certainly changed, but there are still people in the video and development space - a lot of them - who do it because they enjoy it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

That's unjustifiably cynical IMO. The landscape has certainly changed, but there are still people in the video and development space - a lot of them - who do it because they enjoy it.

Considering all we ever seem to here from that sector is constant and persistent, to the point of incessant, whining {oh the hours, oh not being guaranteed a job forever, oh this and oh that} I struggle to find much justification for your defense.

Whinier than the pampered athletes in the sports games, which feels like I'm being more realistic than cynical tbh.

[Brian Swartz]

That's not all we hear from them though, that's the point. I'd suggest you're just listening to the wrong people if that's your perception. There are many contrary examples, the Baldurs Gate 3 devs being well-publicized but far from the only one. A number of video makers and devs I am familiar with have literally never done the kind of whining you are describing to my knowledge. There's others who have of course, but the idea that such things dominate the industry is just plain not true.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Brian Swartz

That's not all we hear from them though, that's the point. I'd suggest you're just listening to the wrong people if that's your perception. There are many contrary examples, the Baldurs Gate 3 devs being well-publicized but far from the only one. A number of video makers and devs I am familiar with have literally never done the kind of whining you are describing to my knowledge. There's others who have of course, but the idea that such things dominate the industry is just plain not true.

The greed has way more to do with CEO's and Boards of major traded companies only caring about how much they can milk out of an IP. They only care about the quality of the game to the point that it impacts their bottom line.