The Video Game thread

[jamesy]

I used to do that with the Final Fantasy games. I would get close to the end and then do all the side quest stuff. Then when I went to finish the game my people were so overpowered they just walked all over the last boss.

 

[VGThuy]

I cannot wait for the new Super Mario game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGQHQc_3ycE

I loved the Super Mario Galaxy series, but this expansive world where Mario could just roam around freely in the Mushroom Kingdom and other lands including New York City...I mean New Donk City is the game I've been wanting since Super Mario 64 (the last game to be like that).

Also, due to all of @antmanb's posts, I'm just sharing this wonderful Zelda trailer that got everyone excited back in January:

https://youtu.be/zw47_q9wbBE

Glad the game lived up to/exceeded expectations. I have feeling Mario and Zelda will be sweeping all the Year-end awards. Nice to see Nintendo back strong in the console game just to have more companies and competition pushing the creativity of the gaming industry thus all of us getting high quality games of all sorts of varieties.

 

[antmanb]

I a sooooooo excited for Super Mario Odyssey too. Mario and Zelda are basically my childhood games so to get to play the two of them on a handheld console like the switch is amazing - I know it would blow the mind of 12 year old me to think what the games would become, it really makes me smile!

 

[antmanb]

I continue to play Zelda (not quite as obsessively now), and have purposefully not advanced the main plot since pretty much my last update. I've spent a lot of time doing side quests and this is why I love the game so much!

Some side quests are just simple do one or two actions and that's it. There was one side quest that involved raising 3,000 rupees to buy a home in one of the villages. Eventually I thought why not i'll hand over the cash and the wood for the home and not only can you build cabinets to store weapons, bows and shields in the house, but it kicked off another side quest that had like 10-15 further tasks that created a whole new town on what was previously a totally empty Island. That island now has shops, and people and rare clothing/amour that can be bought too. I had no idea that would happen and simply though - why not buy a house!

Anyway, if anyone is undecided I'd say it's worth the outlay to buy the switch for this game alone - I've spent over two months playing it and the joy of getting to play on flights and trains when i'm travelling never gets old.

 

[skategal]

We bought a switch for DS (aged 7) for his birthday (collected Birthday money from both sets of grandparents and an aunt and uncle...lol!)

It's been a great investment. He loves it.

He's currently obsessed with the new Mario and Rabbids game.

 

[antmanb]

Just one negative note. Nintendo have acknowledged that the left joycon has a known issue with connectivity and also just going dead.

I switched it on a couple of weeks ago to find the left joycon not working and nothing I could do would get it to work. Thankfully I just took it back to the shop I bought it from with the receipt and they just opened a controller pack and gave me the left one as a replacement. I realise that's fairly simple in the UK, but gather people in other countries have had to send the joycon off to Nintendo and wait for a replacement.

 

[VGThuy]

Edge Magazine just gave its second perfect 10.0 this year for the new Super Mario game, Super Mario Odyssey following the perfect 10.0 it gave to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Nintendo seems to be on a roll. Edge is known for being one of the harsher publications out there and have given less than 20 perfect scores in its 24-year history. Apparently, out of all the subsequent Mario games that have come out since 1996's industry-changing game Super Mario 64, this one feels the most like a successor to this game. The Galaxy series have come close but it wasn't the same as you were exploring planets and thus planet hopping and playing around with gravity and space. This one seems like an expansive world in our world the way Mario 64 was.

http://www.gamesradar.com/feels-lik...-odyssey-scores-1010-in-edge-magazine-review/

The Switch apparently is also making a name of itself as an indie developer console as the blurring of handheld gaming and home console gaming is giving these developers a lot to work with and play with. Hopefully this is a sign that Nintendo has learned its lessons and is actively courting third party developers. I like that they are going for indie developers who tend to make interesting, industry-expanding games focused on taking gameplay and narratives to different directions.

 

[antmanb]

I am sooooooo excited for Mario Odyssey.

I've still not let myself buy MarioKart yet - I want to stick with Zelda and only when i'm totally ready get a new game

 

[skategal]

We have Mario Odyssey on pre-order.

 

[antmanb]

I think mostly because I'm excited to get Mario Odyssey I decided to advance the plot on Zelda and get it finished so I can get the new game when it comes out later this week.

I finally went into Hyrule Castle I am loving it - loads of baddies to kill and tons of really good weapons. I confess that after the first few run ins with the guardians in Hyrule field i'd decided to just keep out of their way rather than fight. But now I've got some ancient tech, plus the ancient armour I've learned to use the shield to parry back their attacks and hit them with their own beam so that should save on ancient arrows. Having not bothered to increase the shield stash, i'm now going through more shields fighting gaurdians so I had to try and find more korok seeds to increase the shield stash, and then Hyrule Castle has some seriously strong shields I think the royal guard's shield has a defense of 70, compared to the closest other shield I won in Gerudo town that is 48.

Anyway now i'm in the castle I am loving this game even more - and the familiar music is an added nostalgia kick

 

[antmanb]

Super Mario Odyssey is out today

I'm going away for a long weekend this weekend so there's no point running out to buy it immediately. I'm travelling with a friend I haven't caught up with in over a month so I want to chat and catch up otherwise it would have been a perfect time to immerse myself in a new game while travelling

 

[antmanb]

I am holding in my hands (well it's on my desk as I type) a shiny new copy of Super Mario Odyssey

3 hours to go until I finish work and can play!

 

[oleada]

I'm still on Skyrim. Such a big game, so many quests. I think I messed up and didn't get the elder scroll when transcribing the orb Septimhs gave me and now I have to go back through the Dwarven Ruins again, ugh.

My stupid follower Teldryn Seo lost my Sanguine Rose staff and I will never forgive him.

 

[Jay42]

The best follower in Skyrim is Serana from the Dawnguard missions, she's tremendously useful, has decent dialogue and can't die.

I've been thinking about starting another Skyrim character. I haven't played it since March. The only reason I haven't yet is because I know when I start again the game basically consumes my life for an extended period of time and I should really finish Bioshock 2 first.

 

[oleada]

The best follower in Skyrim is Serana from the Dawnguard missions, she's tremendously useful, has decent dialogue and can't die.

I've been thinking about starting another Skyrim character. I haven't played it since March. The only reason I haven't yet is because I know when I start again the game basically consumes my life for an extended period of time and I should really finish Bioshock 2 first.

My husband's follower is Serana. I haven't done many of the Dawnguard quests yet though.

I like Teldryn well enough but I might try Aela the Huntress for a bit because I can recite Teldryn's dialogue by heart and he needs to be punished for losing the Sanguine Rose

 

[Jay42]

My husband's follower is Serana. I haven't done many of the Dawnguard quests yet though.

I like Teldryn well enough but I might try Aela the Huntress for a bit because I can recite Teldryn's dialogue by heart and he needs to be punished for losing the Sanguine Rose

I've never had Teldryn for a follower, Aela and Farkas are both good from the Companions.

 

[antmanb]

I spent the weekend playing Mario Odyssey. I really love the game. The reviews I've read have been careful to not give too much away so I will try to do similar, but initially just following the storyline and doing just what needed to be done to advance I "completed" it late on Sunday afternoon. "Completing" it means finishing the main storyline, but now there is a bunch of other stuff to do and apparently more worlds to unlock etc so it sounds like the game really comes into its own once the main storyline is complete.

I absolutely love the new cap and ability to take over certain enemies, and I know i'm not spoiling anything (as it's been in all the trailers) but there is something really funny about taking over a T-Rex and running around playing as one.

Overall it is a brilliant game that I am seriously enjoying and the way it incorporates the old school 2D original Super Mario parts are just great. The seamless drop into and out of 2D/3D is incredible. The graphics are great and I haven't run into any resolution issues like there are with Zelda in some of the forest heavy parts.

I think as a game I prefer Zelda - there is more to do and explore and the world is so vast that you feel you might never actually see every single nook and cranny of that game. But it is a totally different genre of game compared to Mario which is a lot easier to pick up and put down (I found). Anyway I'd give both games 10/10 and I'm glad that I can mix it up and play them both.

One slight negative on Mario is the controls. I personally find it best to play it using each separate joycon in each hand. It is perfectly playable using the controller that clips both joy-cons in. It is much harder to play in portable mode with the joycons attached to either side of the screen - some of the moves that require controller movement to e.g. flick the cap I couldn't even get to work. I have yet to see if you can play with detached joycons and using the screen just for that, but even if you can I think it might be hard to play on the go as it were.

 

[oleada]

I've never had Teldryn for a follower, Aela and Farkas are both good from the Companions.

He's actually pretty good. He's at the Retching Netch in Raven Rock. Good with the one handed weapons which he alternates with the flames and flame atronach (sp?). He also knows fast healing.

I'm almost done with the Thieves Guild quests and after that I may turn my attention back to the original storyline for a bit. I'm so sick of quests involving Dwarven Ruins!

 

[skategal]

My son loves Mario Odyssey. We got it Friday.

Returning to the store tomorrow to get the new Sonic game for the switch.

He convinced his grandmother to buy that on for him. Lol....

 

[Jay42]

He's actually pretty good. He's at the Retching Netch in Raven Rock. Good with the one handed weapons which he alternates with the flames and flame atronach (sp?). He also knows fast healing.

I'm almost done with the Thieves Guild quests and after that I may turn my attention back to the original storyline for a bit. I'm so sick of quests involving Dwarven Ruins!

I love the armour you get at the end of the Thieves Guild quests. I do those first pretty much every time.

 

[VGThuy]

Did anyone catch the video game awards last week?

Here were the nominees and winners:

https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/7/1...s-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-best-game-tga-2017

Winners in bold.

GAME OF THE YEAR

• Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Persona 5 (Atlus)
• PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corp.)
• Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)

BEST GAME DIRECTION

• Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games)
• Resident Evil 7: biohazard (Capcom)
• Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD)
• Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (MachineGames / Bethesda)

BEST NARRATIVE

• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Tameem Antoniades, Elizabeth Ashman-Rowe / Ninja Theory)
• Horizon Zero Dawn (John Gonzalez / Ninja Theory)
• Nier: Automata (Yoko Taro, Hana Kikuchi, Yoshiho Akabane / Platinum Games)
• What Remains of Edith Finch (Ian Dallas / Giant Sparrow)
• Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (Jen Matthies, Tommy Tordsson Bjork / MachineGames)

BEST ART DIRECTION

• Cuphead (Studio MDHR Entertainment)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
• Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Persona 5 (Atlus)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)

BEST SCORE / MUSIC

• Cuphead (Kristofer Maddigan)
• Destiny 2 (Mike Salvatori, Skye Lewin, C Paul Johnson)
• Nier: Automata (Keiichi Okabe, Keigo Hoashi)
• Persona 5 (Shoji Meguro)
• Super Mario Odyssey (Naoto Kubo, Shiho Fujii, Koji Kondo)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata)

BEST AUDIO DESIGN

• Destiny 2 (Bungie)
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
• Resident Evil 7: biohazard (Capcom)
• Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)

BEST PERFORMANCE

• Ashly Burch, Horizon: Zero Dawn (As Aloy)
• Brian Bloom, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (as BJ Blazkowicz)
• Claudia Black, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (as Chloe Frazer)
• Laura Bailey, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (as Nadine Ross)
• Melina Juergens, Hellblade (as Senua)

GAMES FOR IMPACT

• Bury Me, My Love (The Pixel Hunt / Figs / ARTE / Playdius)
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
• Life is Strange: Before the Storm (Deck Nine / Square Enix)
• Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
• Please Knock on My Door (Levall Games AB)
• What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive)

BEST ONGOING GAME

• Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
• Grand Theft Auto Online (Rockstar Games)
• Overwatch (Blizzard)
• PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG. Corp)
• Rainbow Six: Siege (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
• Warframe (Digital Extremes)

BEST INDEPENDENT GAME

• Cuphead (Studio MDHR Entertainment)
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (Ninja Theory)
• Night in the Woods (Infinite Fall)
• Pyre (Supergiant Games)
• What Remains of Edith Finch (Giant Sparrow / Annapurna Interactive)

BEST MOBILE GAME

• Fire Emblem Heroes (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)
• Hidden Folks (Adriaan de Jongh / Sylvain Tegroeg)
• Monument Valley 2 (ustwo games)
• Old Man’s Journey (Broken Rules)
• Super Mario Run (Nintendo)

BEST HANDHELD GAME

• Ever Oasis (Grezzo / Nintendo)
• Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)
• Metroid: Samus Returns (MercurySteam / Nintendo)
• Monster Hunter Stories (Marvelous / Capcom / Nintendo)
• Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World (Good-Feel / Nintendo)

BEST VR/AR GAME

• Farpoint (Impulse Gear / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Lone Echo (Ready at Dawn / Oculus Studios)
• Resident Evil 7: biohazard (Capcom)
• Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Red Storm Entertainment / Ubisoft)
• Superhot VR (SUPERHOT Team)

BEST ACTION GAME

• Cuphead (Studio MDHR Entertainment)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
• Nioh (Team Ninja / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Prey (Arkane Studios / Bethesda)
• Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus (MachineGames / Bethesda)

BEST ACTION/ADVENTURE GAME

• Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft)
• Horizon Zero Dawn (Guerrilla Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
• Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

BEST ROLE-PLAYING GAME

• Divinity: Original Sin II (Larian Studios)
• Final Fantasy 15 (Square Enix Business Division 2 / Square Enix)
• Nier: Automata (Platinum Games / Square Enix)
• Persona 5 (Atlus)
• South Park: The Fractured But Whole (Ubisoft San Francisco / Ubisoft)

BEST FIGHTING GAME

• Arms (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
• Injustice 2 (NetherRealm Studios / Warner Bros. Interactive Ent)
• Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (Capcom)
• Nidhogg 2 (Messhof Games)
• Tekken 7 (Bandai Namco Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)

BEST FAMILY GAME

• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo EAD / Nintendo)
• Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris + Milan / Ubisoft)
• Sonic Mania (PagodaWest Games, Headcannon / Sega)
• Splatoon 2 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)
• Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo EAD / Nintendo)

BEST STRATEGY GAME

• Halo Wars 2 (Creative Assembly, 343 Industries / Microsoft Studios)
• Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Paris + Milan / Ubisoft)
• Total War: Warhammer 2 (Creative Assembly / Sega)
• Tooth and Tail (Pocketwatch Games)
• XCOM 2: War of the Chosen (Firaxis Games / 2K)

BEST SPORTS/RACING GAME

• FIFA 18 (EA Vancouver / EA)
• Forza Motorsport 7 (Turn 10 Studios / Microsoft Studios)
• Gran Turismo Sport (Polyphony Digital / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• NBA 2K18 (Visual Concepts / 2K Sports)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 (PES Productions / Konami)
• Project Cars 2 (Slightly Mad Studios / Bandai Namco Entertainment)

BEST MULTIPLAYER

• Call of Duty: WWII (Sledgehammer Games / Activision)
• Destiny 2 (Bungie / Activision)
• Fortnite (Epic Games)
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo EAD / Nintendo)
• PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG Corp.)
• Splatoon 2 (Nintendo EPD / Nintendo)

MOST ANTICIPATED GAME

• God of War (Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
• Monster Hunter: World (Capcom)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Games)
• The Last of Us Part 2 (Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment)

TRENDING GAMER

• Andrea Rene (What’s Good Games)
• Clint Lexa (“Halfcoordinated”)
• Guy Beahm (“Dr. Disrespect”)
• Mike Grzesiek (“Shroud”)
• Steven Spohn (AbleGamers)

BEST ESPORTS GAME

• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (Valve)
• Dota 2 (Valve)
• League of Legends (Riot)
• Overwatch (Blizzard)
• Rocket League (Psyonix)

BEST ESPORTS PLAYER PRESENTED BY OMEN BY HP

• Lee Sang-hyeok “Faker” (SK Telecom 1, League of Legends)
• Marcelo “coldzera” David (SK Gaming, Counter-Strike: GO)
• Nikola ‘NiKo’ Kovac (FaZe Clan, Counter-Strike: GO)
• Je-hong “ryujehong” Ryu (Seoul Dynasty, Overwatch)
• Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi (Team Liquid, Dota 2)

BEST ESPORTS TEAM

• Cloud 9
• FaZe Clan
• Lunatic-Hai
• SK Telecom T1
• Team Liquid

STUDENT GAME AWARD

• Falling Sky (Jonathan Nielssen, Nikolay Savoy, Mohsen Shah / National Film & TV School)
• From Light (Alejandro Grossman, Steven Li, Sherveen Uduwana / USC)
• Hollowed (Erin Marek, Jerrick Flores, Charley Choucard / University of Central Florida)
• Impulsion (Hugo Verger, Remi Bertrand, Maxime Lupinski / IIM)
• Level Squared (Kip Brennan, Stephen Scoglio, Dane Perry Svendsen / Swinburne University)
• Meaning (Hariz Yet / DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore)

BEST DEBUT INDIE GAME PRESENTED BY SCHICK HYDRO

• Cuphead (Studio MDHR Entertainment)
• Golf Story (Sidebar Games)
• Hollow Knight (Team Cherry)
• Mr. Shifty (Team Shifty)
• Slime Rancher (Monomi Park)

CHINESE FAN GAME AWARD

• Honor of Kings《王者荣耀》 (Timi Studio Group)
• ICEY《艾希》(FantaBlade Network)
• Gumballs & Dungeons《不思议迷宫》(QcPlay Limited)
• jx3 HD《剑网3》重制版 (Kingsoft Corporation)
• Monument Valley 2《纪念碑谷2》(ustwo games)

Apparently there are some passionate debates going on about whether Zelda or Mario deserved it. This has been a great year for Nintendo, and as a fan, I'm glad to see their off-beat and creative vision for video gaming be validated.

 

[antmanb]

Having had the two games for a while now, I think Zelda is hands down the better game for me. Mario doesn't hold my attention for anywhere near as long. After an initial buzz of a couple of weeks for Mario I got a little bored of it The challenges are quite short and repetitive in the various worlds and it starts to feel like a chore to collect all the stars.

Zelda is still holding my interest months later. I know I haven't seen every part of the world in Zelda and finding every last shrine has become somewhat of an obsession, but I still get totally side tracked by things as I wonder around the world. There are still side quests to complete and clothing to find and it still holds my attention whenever I play it. When I pick Mario up now, I might play for short while and get bored.

 

[tony]

Bumping up this thread after a year to comment on Kingdom Hearts 3. I pre-ordered it, received it the day it was released, and got through the game in about a week, only having died 4 or 5 times on normal mode. The boss fights were ridiculously easy to the point that it was just a bunch of triangle pushes and it got boring. The storyline, for me, was all over the place too. I didn't even have to open a hints/cheats page throughout the entire game- it's pretty linear and obvious what you have to do.

I loved KH1 and still haven't beaten it because the ending is so insane. This one has a Toy Story level that is a lot of fun, and some of the other levels are great as well, but I think in the end I was expecting a little more all-around.

 

[antmanb]

I was very late to get God of War on the PS4 ( I got it for Christmas) and I have absolutely loved playing it. The storyline is fantastic and the relationship that develops between father and son is so interesting to watch. I've talked with other people who also had very strained relationships with their dads saying that some parts were really quite an emotional rollercoaster to play.

I bought Red Dead Redemption 2 with supermarket vouchers, but have not yet played it, apparently its beyond a time suck and Mr Antmanb has been a videogame widow for a a few weeks now already

 

[Aerobicidal]

Bumping up this thread a year after the last post--I got a Switch 2 1/2 years ago after not having any consoles since I moved out of my parents' house to go to college (and left the N64 with my younger brothers).

I also loved Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, but I think my favorite game I've played on the Switch is Hollow Knight.

I'm interested in how games have taken elements from music, movies, and books but made them (arguably/sometimes) better. For me, the best example of this is Kentucky Route Zero. I also really enjoyed Florence, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Night in the Woods. I think there's more intellectual/literary value in these games than most contemporary American literature. And the allusion in these games really amaze me--Marquez, Beckett, The Simpsons, and of course older games and memes. I'm tempted to switch careers and see if someone will take me on as a game writer!

 

[maatTheViking]

I did not know we had a video games thread?

I recently picked up Jedi:Fallen Order, and it is so freaking good. I was so glad I gave it a chance. The narrative and the characters are so compelling. I play it on the super-easy mode, as combat can get difficult. A lot of the game is platforming-puzzle solving, which I usually suck at, but its very well made, and the movement is very natural.

I'm really happy with the game, I'd been stuck in a rut with gaming - after putting far, FAR too many hours into Assassin's Creed Odyssey and tiring out before finishing the DLCs.

Fallen Order makes really good use of music, a lot of it is re-using themes from the Star Wars, like a leitmotif you can glimpse. It makes it really immersive.

 

[Jay42]

I got Jedi: Fallen Order for Christmas and I've been really enjoying it so far. I'm not a fast gamer as I really only play on my days off from work because then I don't have to worry about the other stuff I'm doing, but it's a really easy game to get sucked into.

 

[VGThuy]

I agree that so many video games have top-notch writing teams these days. There's one game from 2010 called Deadly Premonition written and directed by a true auteur and eccentric, Hidetaka Suehiro aka SWERY or Swery65, that confused the critics because it was obviously a game developed for 2000's Dreamcast and had outdated controls and graphics and was in development hell for like 9 years, but many people have considered it one of the best games anyway because of the amazing writing and shocking and surprising turns it took.

I don't believe any other medium would have captured that as well as a video game because with a video game you really get a truly immersive experience you cannot get not even with a novel. In that game, the main character has a weird character quirk where he actually talks to his "other" personality, but it turns out you are the other personality and you can interact back with him as he poses you questions and decision making power. He then has these long spiels about his life and conversations with you directly and you interact with him as a character in the game. It was a strange but also incredibly satisfying experience.

This game also played with tones and balancing the absurd with the mundane and the grounded that I now really get bored with so many shows where the whole formula is knowing what the show is about 5 minutes into the first episode and tone and mood stays too consistent for my liking. I know audiences have expectations and they find comfort in that, but at the same time, I want things to reflect more on the variances of real life. I know some streaming shows are trying with that with Master of None I think succeeding.

Nintendo has been for a while now hiring people from other art mediums and other creative backgrounds for their games and I think it truly shows. Their games are not like any other video game studio's and I think that is a huge part of it. They are simply working on a different level (not saying better or worse, just different). You really see it in their Zelda series and other big games.

 

[tony]

Deadly Premonition is one of my absolute favorite games-- it's an obvious homage to Twin Peaks, one of my favorite shows, in about a million different instances throughout the game. There's even a photo of the waterfall/lodge used so often in Twin Peaks on the wall in the hotel of the Deadly Premonition game. I only played the later PS3 version, but the controls were still junk and the graphics super clunky at times. It's still great.

@VGThuy - if you've never seen Twin Peaks, do yourself and watch the first season on any of the major streaming services. It's a relatively quick watch, but you'll be sucked in and you'll immediately start to see the references in the game. It essentially is Twin Peaks: The Video Game.

 

[antmanb]

When I had ankle surgery I replayed Zelda BOTW and found it as addictive as the first time. I think I explored more of the map and found more of the shrines, honestly I was putting in close to 10 hour days on it for about 5 weeks and it was just the best way to recuperate from surgery where I couldn't really move anyway

I've been playing more playstation VR games recently - Blood and Truth was particularly good. I'm losing some of the motion sickness issues that I had with VR in general. I still can't play resident evil if i'm by myself in the house because the VR element of it makes it so scary, if you have the headphones in as well there's too much sensory deprivation for the real world and vague noises in the real world freak me out. One of the dogs once brushed past my leg when I was playing and I jumped up screaming and nearly pulled the console on the floor