What games are you playing currently?

[Timeless]

CEX has such a big library across all the stores I don't know why they have never started selling abroad. Often the title is close to half price the cost of brand new and it comes with a warranty. There are some exceptions like GTA5 on the PC I'm holding out for because I've never played it apart from briefly when I had a PS3 about 10 years ago. The first car radio song I heard playing GTA5 was Robyn - With Every Heartbeat and it's been a special favourite ever since. I had got quite far in and unlocked all three characters when the optical drive of the PS3 stopped working. It wasn't even gradual and all of a sudden the PS3 was useless for games but ideal as a DVD player because that still worked and the remote was a PS3 joypad. It was bulky so I don't use it anymore but have never binned the console because I'm determined to open it up and replace the optical drive. I still have GTA5 on PS3 so this is a much cheaper way of playing it than building a PC to play GTA5 and Stalker 2.

I'm delighted Stalker 2 is getting such good reviews from fans of the series and I will be playing it one day but at 160Gb that is by far the biggest download I will have ever done. It's not a problem and in many ways the bigger file size of a game the better but it does make me wonder about the future of gaming.

 

[BillJ]

It's not a problem and in many ways the bigger file size of a game the better but it does make me wonder about the future of gaming.

Bad game is a bad game. I watched for several years as the Madden franchise grew about 10 GB per year, yet the game got worse and worse. The file size finally seems to have stabilized, though the game is still pretty poor.

The NBA2K franchise has ballooned out of control over the last decade, we’re now in the 160 GB range. Another game where the large file size isn’t indicative of quality.

 

[Owain Taggart]

So I've never come across this when it originally came out, but I received Venetica for free via GOG at some point, and it's what I've been playing on my PC for the last several weeks. It's a surprisingly decent rpg set in and around a fictionalized Venice, and the combat is quite fun and crunchy, with different weapons having their own gameplay purposes, ie hammers breaking down doors. Feels like one of those forgotten games you often hear about.

 

[Phoenix219]

Bad game is a bad game. I watched for several years as the Madden franchise grew about 10 GB per year, yet the game got worse and worse. The file size finally seems to have stabilized, though the game is still pretty poor.

The NBA2K franchise has ballooned out of control over the last decade, we’re now in the 160 GB range. Another game where the large file size isn’t indicative of quality.

As soon as storage space became a non-issue programmers started being really lazy in that regard.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

So I've never come across this when it originally came out, but I received Venetica for free via GOG at some point, and it's what I've been playing on my PC for the last several weeks. It's a surprisingly decent rpg set in and around a fictionalized Venice, and the combat is quite fun and crunchy, with different weapons having their own gameplay purposes, ie hammers breaking down doors. Feels like one of those forgotten games you often hear about.

I absolutely loved the shit out of that game. It was tons of fun which might explain why I like Forspoken so much now.

 

[Timeless]

Bad game is a bad game. I watched for several years as the Madden franchise grew about 10 GB per year, yet the game got worse and worse. The file size finally seems to have stabilized, though the game is still pretty poor.

The NBA2K franchise has ballooned out of control over the last decade, we’re now in the 160 GB range. Another game where the large file size isn’t indicative of quality.

I know what you mean and bigger file size doesn't always mean better unless it's by a developer who knows what they are doing especially when it comes to audio compression. It makes me wonder if the future of gaming is with a MIDI type setup where universal textures and audio are stored online which would drastically reduce the amount of data that needs to be downloaded with every game. Some people don't have the luxury of unlimited bandwidth so games that are 100+ GB can put them out of reach. Even if they can afford the title they can't afford to download them.

 

[BillJ]

I know what you mean and bigger file size doesn't always mean better unless it's by a developer who knows what they are doing especially when it comes to audio compression. It makes me wonder if the future of gaming is with a MIDI type setup where universal textures and audio are stored online which would drastically reduce the amount of data that needs to be downloaded with every game. Some people don't have the luxury of unlimited bandwidth so games that are 100+ GB can put them out of reach. Even if they can afford the title they can't afford to download them.

The more they force us online, the more I go back to older consoles.

 

[Timeless]

The more they force us online, the more I go back to older consoles.

Same here but they are appealing to younger gamers. Taking Stalker 2 as an example I don't know what that comprises of but if a large chunk of that data is audio then there should be an option of downloading the game without audio and using an internet connection in a client - host setup. It would probably half the download size and provide more options to the consumer.

 

[Owain Taggart]

It makes me wonder if the future of gaming is with a MIDI type setup

Well, that takes me back... and it would be quite ironic given that when cd quality audio became a thing, it was, it was a huge deal as it made everything more consistent.

 

[Phoenix219]

When games on gamepass are streaming only and not something I can download, I don't even bother with them.

 

[jenji120]

Twitter says Oblivion Remastered is dropping today at noon (tomorrow at the latest). So I'll prob be playing that.

 

[XCV330]

I am replaying Sleeping Dogs on PS5. It was removed from the play station store on the ps5 but can still be obtained using the phone app. It does crash occasionally on startup, but after that seems to run fine. It still has the best hand-to-hand combat in any game I've played, and a great story too.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Twitter says Oblivion Remastered is dropping today at noon (tomorrow at the latest). So I'll prob be playing that.

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[jenji120]

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I'm playing and it's awesome the job they've done. This is half remake/half remaster and it makes a lot of companies that have put out reskins look bad. I'm not quite sure what's going on with the game engine. It's Unreal Engine 5 but Gamebryo/Creation Engine is still at its heart and the brain behind it?

I will say the door has to be open at least a little bit for mods because the same console commands work when you hit tilde on PC but it will probably be very limited to non-existent until and unless a mod kit is released (which I doubt will happen).

 

[FPAlpha]

Playing Last of US Part 1 and it's such a fantastic game. It has a bit less impact since i have seen the show and know the story but if i take my amazement of the show and transpose it to the game i'm sure the twists would have an equally great impact.

No surprise there that someone decided at some point it would make for a good TV show, the story is amazing.

 

[Owain Taggart]

I absolutely loved the shit out of that game. It was tons of fun which might explain why I like Forspoken so much now.

I see Venetica was heavily criticized upon release, and perhaps unfairly so, but I think it's one of those games that can be looked at more fondly now. I love the art and world design and its emphasis on architecture. You get the sense that the designers were playful in design of their long and steep staircases, for example. The game really feels like a breath of fresh air at times.

 

[Timeless]

I'm playing and it's awesome the job they've done. This is half remake/half remaster and it makes a lot of companies that have put out reskins look bad. I'm not quite sure what's going on with the game engine. It's Unreal Engine 5 but Gamebryo/Creation Engine is still at its heart and the brain behind it?

I will say the door has to be open at least a little bit for mods because the same console commands work when you hit tilde on PC but it will probably be very limited to non-existent until and unless a mod kit is released (which I doubt will happen).

Does it start like the original in a dungeon and then escaping via the sewers? I'm exited to try it out on the PC if it's like the original with similar quests and locations but with lots of welcome additions.

 

[BigFoot]

I'm playing and it's awesome the job they've done. This is half remake/half remaster and it makes a lot of companies that have put out reskins look bad. I'm not quite sure what's going on with the game engine. It's Unreal Engine 5 but Gamebryo/Creation Engine is still at its heart and the brain behind it?

I will say the door has to be open at least a little bit for mods because the same console commands work when you hit tilde on PC but it will probably be very limited to non-existent until and unless a mod kit is released (which I doubt will happen).

I presume the game logic runs on their original engine and the graphics (possible also physics and other stuff) are done in UE5. I believe that's how Bluepoint Games did the Demon's Souls remaster/remake as well. It makes the development easier (because you don't have to re-do the game logic). It does make the game a bit more demanding on the CPU though.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Ok the job that has been done with the visuals on the Oblivion remaster is nothing shirt of stunning, the lighting and model work is jaw dropping, the first level as you sneak through the dungeons are just amazing, the detail, the lighting, the subtle effects, the creature models, the teeth on the rats are the things of nightmares, just a stunning remaster, my hats off to them, this is how all remasters should be done.

Now remaster Morrowind and Skyrim to this level and i will buy them again as this is how you define a remaster.

 

[jenji120]

Does it start like the original in a dungeon and then escaping via the sewers? I'm exited to try it out on the PC if it's like the original with similar quests and locations but with lots of welcome additions.

Yes. And as someone who always played a dark elf (never a beast race) until Skyrim because they looked so awful I was surprised as hell by the “here kitty kitty….” taunt I got in jail. I played up to Cloud Ruler Temple last night and it’s all the same questing wise but closing the Oblivion Gate wasn’t nearly as annoying as I remember.

One thing that was kinda odd is that even though the humanoid races are no longer potato heads they’re all old looking in character creation (well everyone but the Redguard). The elven races (especially) Dunmer are in dire need of some mods. There’s also some general weirdness with NPC faces but given what they were working with it’s still amazing.