Last game you finished, tell us about it

I try not to judge others on this forum. If an adult man likes dolls and he's not hurting anyone then I say have at it. It's only when he's assembling the dolls from the dead bodies of girls he's murdered and dismembered that I have a problem. Joxer, promise me you're not doing this???

But seriously, everyone has their little harmless quirks and obsessions. My homosexual nephew's man-boy cave for instance is covered wall-to-wall in Star Wars action figures. He probably even has a Mr. Potato Head Darth Vader. He's 44. But do I worry about him? Sure I do. But he's not hurting anyone... at least I don't think he is. I haven't checked his crawlspaces or his basement for signs of recently disturbed earth, but I think he's okay ;)
 
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May 18, 2014
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Btw, I'm currently on hiatus from playing any games because I'm refurbishing an old modded original Xbox console. I don't know what it is about that big ugly black box but I love it. So I have been catching glimpses of games for testing purposes while fixing up the OGXbox like Halo 2 or that Hulk game in widescreen & HD. I might play the whole game next (Halo2) on my Xbox since I loved the original Halo but playing ANY FPS with a controller just feels WRONG..
 
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May 18, 2014
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What about me? If I understood the question correctly…
No, I don't "play" with corpses.
 
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Apr 12, 2009
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The last game I finished is Return of the Obra Dinn. It's done by the guy who made Papers, Please, which I didn't play, but I heard only good things about it. It's a detective adventure with simple game mechanics and a beautiful graphic style (highly stylized, so it might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it). It's in full 3D, but it's done in the style of black and white book illustrations.

You play as a detective, trying to solve the mystery of a ship lost at sea which was recently found with nobody on board. You start with no knowledge of what happened and have to learn the fate of all 60 crew members and passengers. The way you do it is with a magical pocket watch which, when you activate it near the body or the remains of a person, shows you the exact moment that person died. You then gather the clues which can help you learn the fate of not just that person, but also others on the ship. It's masterfully done and is a great exercise in deduction. If you're looking for something to play with your brain on cruise control, skip this one, it requires a lot of thinking. In fact, that is the thing you'll do the most in this game.

Sound in the game is also masterfully done, and I can say it's one of the best games on that front I played in years. Sound effects, voice acting and the soundtrack were so good It actually made me feel I was on a ship.

Controls can be clunky at times and there are some things I would like to see changed. For example, once you activate the watch near a body for the first time, you can't simply leave the scene. Instead you have to wait arbitrary amount of time and then that scene ends by itself. However, that is only a minor thing which only irked me a bit but it didn't make the game unplayable.

Bug-wise, the game is almost flawless. I have only encountered one bug where you get stuck in a staircase when I activated a certain scene from a certain angle, but I fixed it by reloading the game, which spawned me with the same progress on a safe place. The game auto-saves after each interaction so you never lose progress. There are no manual saves, but you don't really need them since you can't really fail. You can leave the ship after a certain point without learning everything and you'll get a bad ending, but you then get an option to rewind back to ship and continue with solving the puzzle. The game is not long, I finished it in about 8,5 hours, but that will mainly depend on how fast you can connect all the dots.

The game just came out and is $20 or so, and I must admit it was an impulse buy from me. I saw it on GOG few days before, when it came out, but I didn't bother to check it out. But then it popped up on YouTube and I watched the first 20 minutes of gameplay and was immediately hooked. All in all, I highly recommend this game for anyone who likes puzzles, detective work, mystery and such. Solid 9/10.
 
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Jun 24, 2014
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Finished XCom2-Wotc for the nth (3rd? 4th?) time. Hadn't played it in a while but with the free tactic pack dlc figured I'd give it a run after the legacy missions proved quite decent. Didn't notice a huge difference; some of the maps were more painful in a good way so perhaps that is new. Still had a blast; but hope xcom-3 is more rpg'ish in the story telling (like the legacy missions). I guess it is a catch-22 there is probably more replay-ability if the missions are less static.
 
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Oct 20, 2006
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I feel like I've finished Dungeons of Chaos, but I only got to the old finish at the end of chapter 2 (of 3). Chapter 3 started with some horrible design decisions that have made me stop playing.

To start, it introduces in-engine unskippable cut-scenes with super slow text to help with the story, but the pace the game had set was tearing through battles on auto-combat so I found these slow and frustrating.

Next, you begin without a body and have to roam around doing a talking puzzle.

You get your body back but the game has taken all your equipment away and told you it's spread out in boxes somewhere. I hate levels where your equipment is removed to rebalance things!

Then you find out about the new permanent stat loss for dying from an OP Manticore stops you dead in your tracks. Worst of all it comes with a cutscene. I could literally break the game trying to beat that Manticore when my tank is losing 5AC every death. Not off his equipment, it's more like a permanent curse. Enough deaths and all balance will be lost.

Most annoying of all, after only just getting fast-travel near the end of chapter 2 it's been taken away again for chapter 3.

Great example of things to not do in your game. :(
 
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Jul 10, 2007
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Ok, just finished Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption. If the Quest for Glory games were not for you, then you can just skip this one right off the bat. On the other hand, if you've fond memories of those games and are looking to recapture some of those good times, then delve into this immediately!!!

You start off as a lad who lost his father years ago, and is currently in a rough spot in his life. He gets an opportunity to join this University, and perhaps make a positive change in your life. Along the way you'll encounter classmates that will help you on your path, and give you the chance to assist them as well. You'll run into adversaries that cannot be easily dealt with, some of which will plague you the entire term. There are mysteries to be solved, different areas to be explored, and a simple combat system that turns out to be difficult to master.

For me, this is a serious contender for game of the year.
 
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Oct 18, 2011
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So, I finished Elex. I think Elex was really fun and brought back some good PB times. I feel like it was a good return to PB games in many aspects I thought were just not at the right level in Risen.

I played as a Berserker, but in reality, I didn't. Like in Gothic 1, more than half the game is spent in Chapter 1 doing quests for all factions. I tended to do things in a more 'Berserker' way most of the time, but I still completed most Cleric quests to help them and many Outlaws quests too.

I also actually think that Elex has one of the better game economies I have played in a very, very long time. In many games, money is either too plentiful or not enough.
I tended to have just enough money for what I wanted to buy when I wanted to buy. I only went pickpocketing 1, lockpicking 2 and animal trophies 2 by the end of the game though, so I am sure you can abuse the system if you really want to.

As per usual in Gothic games, the starting combat skills are shit, but once you invest some points you tend to do a lot of damage rather quickly. One of the negatives for me was that due to being able to move up the ranks so quickly after having done all the quests essentially, I moved from no armour to Paladin armour in the space of a few hours. In Gothic 1 and 2, the armour was what gave me the real feeling of progression. In this game, it didn't as much.

On the other hand, I felt the weapons did make a significant difference in the damage output, which meant crafting was actually useful and done quite well.

I think another point is the Elex potions. I didn't use any as I wanted to be a full emotion Berserker. I managed to do that quite easily in the end on Normal, but I think that I would probably play on hard if I were to use those potions. They are probably too much of a game changer to be allowed to be used just with a change in Cold. I think it would have been good to add some kind of negative effects to it, such as losing HP or more lore-friendly would be to lose Mana.

Anyway, all in all a really fun game. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes PB style games and if you haven't played any before, I would recommend playing it anyway, but focusing on Combat skills first to be able to kill things.

Last thing, I think that they made all weapons work. It just seems like everything is viable, whether that's melee, ranged or magic. I think that's quite good for people who only like it one way.
 
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Nov 13, 2006
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Finished Swords Coast Legends last night (main campaign + Rage Of Demons). Think I spent about 42 hours on everything combined. I must say that I was actually pretty happy with this game despite all the bad press it got. No it wasn’t the reincarnation of Baldur Gate 2 or NWN that some people may have wanted...but I think it was a solid D&D experience. There were a couple of odd UI choices and the Rage of Demons stuff felt incomplete like it was rushed out half way through development. There are certainly more complex and replayable rpg options available these days, but I don’t regret the time I spent on this one and would recommend it to anyone looking for a “one and done” 40 hour romp.
 
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Mar 17, 2017
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Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun. A stealth game in the genre of Commandos and Desperados. Now this was a surprise 'hit' for me. First of all it is very accessible (not too hard unless you want to), polished, solid mechanics, and as a bonus is set in Japan. The story was good but not that remarkable (except for one surprising turn of events), it is the likeable characters that pulled it forward and the simple but addicting stealth mechanics. Did I mention I like the Japanese setting?

Although it is not too hard, expect to reload a lot as you try to find the best way (non-lethal) to approach a scenario. Luckily saving and reloading is really done well. As I know I'm positive for most things I post let me try to sum up a couple of cons:
- as a stealth game I too often had to kill a courtyard full of enemies just to get past. I would have preferred alternative options, but maybe I was not very good at it. There are achievements for non-lethal playthroughs and doing things in a specific way so it must be possible...
- graphics are good but not very detailed. They went for more a cartoonish look which by nature has less detail.
- camera controls are not that smooth
 
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Jun 5, 2009
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I played Shadow Tactics until the 4th or 5th mission/map but gave up because it's so damn hardcore. Those huge maps just stopped being fun with such a high difficulty level and the game for me proceeded at a snail's pace and I just wasn't enjoying myself. Added to the fact that I was never good at strategy-type PC games and there's no way I could complete this since it's already nut-bustingly hard by the 5th mission. I love stealth games and Looking Glass' Thief series but this is like Thief on roid rage. Not for the faint-heated... at all.
 
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May 18, 2014
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Update on Shadow Tactics: I'm picking up where I left off. Hard as nails game but there is something about it that made me come back. I'm on the 6th mission. Can't imagine anyone beating this game in "Hardcore" difficulty without killing a few hundred AI. Tip: if you don't learn "Shadow Mode" abandon all hope of ever beating this game, even on easy. You need to coordinate simultaneous attacks. I saw one poor bastard on Steam that managed to make it to Mission 9 and didn't know how to use Shadow Mode. He's now committed to an Asylum for the Criminally Insane, smearing his human wastes all over the walls of his room writing the words "Shogunate"and "Ronin" while whimpering the name "mugen… mugen … mugen" over and over again. LEARN SHADOW MODE!
 
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May 18, 2014
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Update on Shadow Tactics: I'm picking up where I left off. Hard as nails game but there is something about it that made me come back. I'm on the 6th mission. Can't imagine anyone beating this game in "Hardcore" difficulty without killing a few hundred AI. Tip: if you don't learn "Shadow Mode" abandon all hope of ever beating this game, even on easy. You need to coordinate simultaneous attacks. I saw one poor bastard on Steam that managed to make it to Mission 9 and didn't know how to use Shadow Mode. He's now committed to an Asylum for the Criminally Insane, smearing his human wastes all over the walls of his room writing the words "Shogunate"and "Ronin" while whimpering the name "mugen… mugen … mugen" over and over again. LEARN SHADOW MODE!
Stick with it. It's lots of fun. I find it oddly calming to just watch the environment and find out all the routes and routines of the soldiers and civilians.

I did play with a controller which perhaps made it easier to walk the lines of the vision cones. I often would run up to a enemy until he almost sees you (yellow almost full), then duck, wait for his vision cone to swing to the other side and then simple stand up and run past him. I can imagine this is a lot easier when you have direct control over a character than using a mouse and keyboard.

Yes, the shadow mechanic will make your life a lot easier. I kept it usually pretty simple. Used shadow mode to throw a stone or some other distraction and use direct control for the kill (you can then time the start of the distraction exactly right with a press of a button). It is also needed when you want to take out a patrol undetected as they react as one, but I tried to avoid that and focussed on the lone guys.
 
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Jun 5, 2009
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Wasteland 2: Director's Cut

Having previously played WL2 only up until Canyon of the Titan, I wanted to return to this title and give it its proper due (especially considering I pledged $125 for it on Kickstarter).

Pros:
  • Large skill variety. And allowance of multiple skills for completing obstacles.
  • Combat encounters are fun and make use of a wide array of your stats, from movement speed to action points to initiative.

Cons: (unfortunately, this list is more exhaustive)
  • The recruitable NPCs are simply terrible. And I'm not just talking about their lackluster array of stats. Once recruited, these companions are basically pack-mules with a gun. Sure, every now and again one of them might make some offhand remark to a static NPC in the world, but it all feels very lackluster and under-developed.
  • In reference to the aforementioned NPCs, it is very difficult (if not impossible) to plan around their skills without referencing a WIKI with spoilers. Want to try a new NPC that was just made available? Then it likely means giving up a current companion with a more appropriate skillset for your team.
  • Beyond a couple instances (AG/Highpool and Seal Beach), the game simply has no sense of impending danger and a need to act. For a squad of the wasteland's protectors, you rarely feel hurried and the game encourages you to waltz around with all the time in the world. Little reactivity from the world.
  • The division of the world into two parts comes across as something to pad the game's length. Arizona and California play out very similarly to one another: go here, save this town, do these things, make the wasteland a better place. There is very little sense of progression both in terms of an overall narrative and enemies/combat tactics.
  • Music and sound stink. I know some people prefer playing with their sound off, but I think it adds a great deal of atmosphere to a game. And in Wasteland 2, the sound effects and music are complete bunk and only compound the blandness of the overall product. The credits music was probably the sole exception to this.

All in all, this adds up to a game that was technically fine, but whose design was very flawed. And one that plays out "well enough" but wherein you tend to feel like you're "going through the motions" more often than not, journeying from one disconnected town to the next to complete a disparate set of quests that have little impact on the overall narrative.
 
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I enjoyed playing wasteland 2; maybe because the combat was fun. The story had presentation issues and the companions were imho fine for combat but not very interesting if you want interaction or stories (which it sounds like you wanted). I thought there was greater diversity in arizona vs california than you did and thought California was more interesting story wise but also more buggy (even in the director cut). Also the middle part with the canyon of titan seemed like a rip off from fallout 3 which in all fairness was a rip off from various books/movies/earlier games (talking about the worship of the nuke).
 
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The combat is what kept me thrilled in Wasteland two as well. If you look deeply at some of the quests/stories, many of them seemed pure nonsense, but the combat system I found to be rich and enjoyable.
 
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Oct 18, 2011
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Wasteland 2: Director's Cut

Having previously played WL2 only up until Canyon of the Titan, I wanted to return to this title and give it its proper due (especially considering I pledged $125 for it on Kickstarter).

.

I think I pledged the same maybe even more, and I have yet to play it. I have had some fun with the collectable goodies (cloth map, lunch box, book manual etc), but frankly, my interest in overhead/iso perspective has just waned. Couldn't finish DOS 2 but finished the flawed Bard Tale 4 with over 130 hours.
 
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Oct 19, 2006
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I can completely understand not finishing Original Sin two, but if you actually got through Bard's Tale four, you can do Wasteland the second. I guarantee you'll not regret doing so!!
 
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I can completely understand not finishing Original Sin two, but if you actually got through Bard's Tale four, you can do Wasteland the second. I guarantee you'll not regret doing so!!


Sounds like a plan. I went through the Wasteland 2 collectable goodies and I got that RPG hunger. First step, put that map in a frame place it next to my monitor.
 
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Oct 19, 2006
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Kingdom Come Deliverance.

One of the best games I've ever played.

Not comfortable rating it, but it's magnificent. I even made a mod for it - which is a first for me.
 
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