StaceyPowers

Are you all excited about PlayStation Classic? I think it's super cool, but at the same time, it just reminds me of how hypocritical Sony is on the whole backwards compatibility issue. They claim that users don't care about old games, and use that as an excuse not to support it, but then they come out with this product, which proves that they know better. Thoughts?

I haven’t yet had a chance to try virtual reality, but I am really excited to do so whenever I am able. But I read a lot of reviews from folks who feel that VR is something of a “gimmick”—something that is cooler in theory than in reality, and too clunky to really “stick” from a consumer perspective. What do y’all think? Will interest in VR continue, or is it just a fleeting trend?

I still haven't had a chance to try VR, but I read a lot about it. I notice that while VR is a great idea in theory, a lot of gaming experiences just don't "translate" into virtual reality all that well--at least according to reviews. It made me wonder what some of the best VR experiences are which are currently available?

Video game companies are notorious for really screwing up with microtransactions/freemium pricing models. I’ve played some games that were truly terrible in this regard, where rich players were able to purchase a huge advantage over everyone else. It made me curious if anyone has really gotten this model right yet. What games have the least offensive microtransaction systems and manage to maintain fair and balanced play without bleeding everyone dry?

We've been seeing more and more asymmetrical games over the past few years. I'm curious what everybody thinks about this trend. I have yet to get into it--I usually feel like asymmetrical games are not well balanced, but I'm curious if anyone here has any titles they recommend.

I love Skyrim, Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, but I want to broaden my horizons. Anyone have any open world games to suggest? Preferably on PS3, but other platforms as well.

And they have SO many bugs.

You might be aware that there have been rumors on and off of a Last of Us movie for years now. Neil Druckmann has actually said that he doesn't really want it to go forward anymore, because (as Digital Spy reported), ""But, for me, and I know for Naughty Dog and for a lot of our fans, Nolan North is Nathan Drake, Ashley Johnson is Ellie, Troy Baker is Joel. And it would be very disorienting to see someone else in that role." Agree or disagree? Would you like to see a Last of Us movie? I think in some ways to me it'd feel superfluous--it'd be hard to get more involved with a passive film presentation than a game--but it's a different medium, and I could still see it working in some way.

What time of day do you play video games? I play late at night in the hour or two before I go to bed. It helps me let go of my worries and relaxes me so I can fall asleep.

Which game developers in general would you say are the best in terms of the quality of work they put into their games?

One thing that annoys me about DLC is the fact that since the content is digital, it can be sold at full price for the rest of time. I find it kind of funny I’ve paid $20 for DLC before for games I purchased for $5. Anyway, it got me wondering, what DLC have you played which you would say is the best value, even if it wasn’t the cheapest? And what DLC is the worst value you have paid for?

I tried like a dozen different things to treat my anxiety, almost none of which helped, and then I got a PS3. Gaming every night before bed has done more to help me sleep than anything else I've ever tried, and does wonders to stabilize my mood. Anyone else have the same experience?

What are the creepiest games you've ever played? Note that I said "creepy" as opposed to "scary," "gruesome" or "horrific." The emphasis here is on an unsettling atmosphere, not outright scares. For me, it is still Myst back in the day on PC. Nothing remotely scary ever actually happened in that game, and it was pretty much a vacuum when it came to other characters. But that never stopped me from feeling like I needed to look over my shoulder the entire time (which of course you couldn’t do since the game didn’t feature seamless walking). Maybe I just played it during an impressionable age, but I’ve never encountered a single game since which compares in that respect.

I’ve been having this issue for a couple of months now, where when I load up Origins, it hangs for a while, and then reports that the Dragon Age servers are “temporarily” down. This “temporarily” down message seems to be anything but temporary. Anyone have any idea what is going on with the servers and if they are doing anything to fix it? I heard this issue doesn’t impact Inquisition, but the same person who told me that did say they were getting the same message on older games. So I know it isn’t just me. I feel like they’re putting a very low priority on support for their older titles …

What games do you think are most overdue for a remaster? For me, I'd be interested in a remaster of Morrowind.

Sometimes I read forum posts where someone complains that they ran into a glitch in a video game, and lost eight hours of progress. With a lot of games, I have a hard time seeing how this still happens. In Skyrim for example, you can save whenever you want, even in the middle of combat. I usually save multiple times an hour (routinely making new save points), and then just go through and delete old saves now and again. If something goes wrong, I lose very little progress. Of course, this is a lesson I learned the hard way once as well. To some extent, I am probably a compulsive saver, and it got me curious how often you all save when playing a game that lets you choose? Does anyone else save as often as I do? I'm also curious if anyone actually prefers games that force you to only save during certain checkpoints. I have to admit that this can add something to the tension factor, and the feeling of accomplishment when you get through a hard fight is more intense. On the other hand, not being able to save when I want can be stressful. Needless to say, I didn't get very far with Demon's Souls, lol. Having to go back to the start of a level over and over just wasn't for me. Yet that series is immensely popular. Is the fact that you are forced to start over repeatedly actually part of the appeal?

Video games can run the gamut from edge-of-your-seat tense to completely soothing and relaxing in every way—and sometimes the same game can alternate between those extremes. A lot of it is subjective though. For me, I’d say the most relaxing game format is an open world RPG game you can explore at your own pace and save at any time, followed by FPS games. What do you think are the most relaxing types of games?

I think I'm most of the way through Dragon Age: Origins now, and I’ve really fallen in love with the character interaction. I love how the party members banter with each other casually while walking (often about completely mundane stuff), and how aside from basic greetings when you open dialogue, conversation doesn’t repeat much. It feels very lifelike, and the approval/disapproval system is complex and had a lot of thought put into it. I enjoy the friendship/romance aspect. I’ve never played another game like it before. I was wondering if anyone can suggest anything to me? What other games have you played that feature a similar level of depth in interaction and feature a similar system for evolving relationships?

Fallout is pretty surreal, but it is of course full of real-world references, many of them obvious, others less so. Anyway, I was reading up on gambling history the other week, and that brought me around to Las Vegas history, and I learned about the atomic bomb parties. Basically, in the 50s and 60s when they were testing nuclear weapons near Vegas, the tests brought in an influx of curious tourists. They would watch the tests and party all night—because atomic detonations seemed cool, I guess? Apparently during this time, there was a lot of atomic-themed stuff marketed as a result—like you would see in a Fallout game. One such item was a beverage named the Atomic Cocktail. And that of course is a beverage in Fallout: New Vegas. I thought that was some pretty cool trivia, and it really highlighted how a world like that featured in Fallout isn’t that far-fetched (disturbingly). I was wondering if anyone else has some similar cool trivia to share with links between Fallout and real life?

Nice list, thank you! You can move the thieves' guild to a different location? How does that work?

Having only recently obtained a PS3 and rejoined the gaming world after a long time away, I can't actually give an answer to this question myself. But I'm curious--someone posted asking about games that are overrated. What about games that are massively underrated? Are there any games out there which got panned by reviewers, but which you love?

What's the dullest game you've ever played on any platform? For me, I have to go with Tetris. Yes, it's a classic. Doesn't change the fact that it bores me to tears.

When I was a kid, we had an original NES in our house, which my parents kept clear through my college years (I assume they still have it). The oldest console I have is a PS3, which is also the newest console I have. I talked to my neighbour the other day who mentioned that she has a PS2 and an older system—it’s slipped my mind what it was—which she keeps just to play one game. Anyway, it got me wondering how many other people keep all their old working consoles around. What’s the oldest console you own?

I’m about to start my third replay of Skyrim. I love the game and I’m not tired of it, but I am having a hard time coming up with ways to keep it fresh. The first time through, I deliberately avoided a number of large quest lines, and then played those the second time through so I would have two very different lives. But now I’ve probably done 95% of the quests in the game at least once. What are some more ideas for “refreshing” the experience of an open world game you’ve explored so thoroughly? So far all I’ve come up with is taking a totally different approach to combat and perk distribution. Usually I fight one-handed and use conjuration, so I’m thinking of going pure destruction mage on my next play-through. I’d love to hear more ideas!

Thanks!