Shagger

Welcome to VGR. Always nice to see new folk joining. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Good and relevant advice with Starfield just around the corner. Hopefully I'll be able to resist Starfield or maybe I'll play it through Gamepass if possible, but knowing me I probably will still buy it if I have to because I'm a turd.

Hi.
I like sandbox and open world exploration games. It relaxes me to go around the map doing quests, collecting and crafting things and discovering things, trying to survive or make the goal to beat the game.
I don't consider myself a "hardcore gamer" because I play an hour and a half a week and I'm not up to date on what's new. But I usually pass the games in the maximum difficulty or the previous one if it's excessive, so I would not consider myself a casual.
If I had to say my 7 favorite games they would be, in order from best to worst: Outer Wilds, Subnautica, Bellow Zero, The Witcher 3, Red Dead Redemption 2, The Long Dark and Green Hell.
How did I find this forum? Just googling "video games forum"
My first video game was "Pokemon Sapphire" for Game Boy Advance.

it is now!

Given the fact the original game was controlled with a single analogue stick, they'll have to. I love Goldeneye on N64 and Perfect Dark was even better, but let's be honest the games haven't aged that well. Bring back Perfect Dark with a retelling of the same, mad story with modern FPS mechanics, controls and graphics and I will be a happy man.

This topic is already starting to sound like the "Rules" from Scream...
 
 
Anyway...
 
One thing that does drive me nuts about Braveheart is the portrayal of Robert the Bruce. He didn't betray William Wallace at Falkirk. Hell, he wasn't even there. He actually grew up in the English court, so if her betrayed anyone it was England. At Bannockburn in 1314, he wasn't all dressed up in fancy armour either, he was actually armoured for something suitable for "reconnaissance" only and armed only with a small axe. An English Knight named Henry de Bohun spotted Bruce in this "disadvantaged" state with light armour and riding a small horse and charged. Bruce held his ground until the last second before side stepping and whacking Henry de Bohun with that small axe right between the eyes, both killing him and breaking the axe in the process in one of the most amazing combat baits in history. Bruce actually had to sit out the rest of the battle because he no longer had any means to defend himself.

This topic is already starting to sound like the "Rules" from Scream...
 
 
Anyway...
 
One thing that does drive me nuts about Braveheart is the portrayal of Robert the Bruce. He didn't betray William Wallace at Falkirk. Hell, he wasn't even there. He actually grew up in the English court, so if her betrayed anyone it was England. At Bannockburn in 1314, he wasn't all dressed up in fancy armour either, he was actually armoured for something suitable for "reconnaissance" only and armed only with a small axe. An English Knight named Henry de Bohun spotted Bruce in this "disadvantaged" state with light armour and riding a small horse and charged. Bruce held his ground until the last second before side stepping and whacking Henry de Bohun with that small axe right between the eyes, both killing him and breaking the axe in the process in one of the most amazing combat baits in history. Bruce actually had to sit out the rest of the battle because he no longer had any means to defend himself.

Anyone buying a new switch now may as well buy the OLED model. If Nintendo had any intention of releasing a so-called "Switch Pro" the OLED model would have been that. We will not see a hardware upgrade from Nintendo until they come out with a whole new console.

This guy barley mentioned dick about another Burnout game and even if he did it would be another open world fringe off the same cloth as Need For Speed or Forza Horizon.  When EA and Criterion released Burnout Paradise they fucking murdered the entire genre!  They made it perfectly clear that they don't want to make fun, offline, arcade racers anymore and a disgustingly large number of players apparently agreed so the fun racing game is now dead,
 
The last Burnout game was Paradise and it was dogshit.  Even if Criterion were willing to make another Burnout there is far to many idiots that think Paradise was a good game that that is inevitably what they would build it from.  Thanks for sharing but fuck this!

Thanks everyone for your replies, it makes me feel better that im not the only one who thinks this way, i was starting to feel like i was just trying to justify all the years ive spent in the wonderful world of games, by telling myself that im actually getting more from them than just pure enjoyment (which is reason enough to do anything for sure) lol 🙂 I guess ive just spent too much time around non gamers, who dont appreciate the work, imagination, research and money that goes into making a good and in a lot of cases historically accurate game. Kane99 you are correct my friend, i too have learnt so much from the assassins creed games, as not only are they full of fact based history, but you also get a real feel for what it would have ben like to live in that era, im thinking right now of my latest AC experience which was obviously Valhalla and in that game, especially as im from the north of England, it gave me a real appreciation of the struggles our forefathers faced, not only from the Vikings but from the Romans too, everyone wanted a piece of old blighty back then lol! Ive also just got into PCVR as i connect my Quest 2 to my gaming PC and wow let me say the immersion level has gone through the roof, its another level and can only add to the learning experience, as now im in the game/game world and you experience things and see things that you would have missed playing on a monitor or tv, its absolutely crazy 🙂 ive just finished Lone Echo and i was left speechless, to be in orbit around Saturn, as a worker droid protecting your human partner is another level when your actually there, i was stood looking out of our space craft at the view of Saturn with its rings and all the meteors floating around it, it really gave me a perspective i would never have dreamed of without VR 🙂 There is a few tweaks you have to make when first setting up your quest 2 for PCVR gaming via a link cable, but it is well worth it when you get it right, as it improves the look and feel of the game 10 fold, im happy to help anyone who is using their quest 2 for PCVR, just drop me a message and ill talk you through it, as it does improve the look of the games in VR very much if done right. Anyway peeps thanks again for the replies and sorry for the long response lol once i get chatting you cant stop me 🙂 take care all, Woody

I wasn't aware of a direct connection. Neverwinter is a free-to-play MMO based upon the Neverwinter Nights series of RPGs that themselves are based upon Dungeons & Dragons. However, having done a little research in the wake of your question, I now see that The Neverwinter Saga is a saga written in the forgotten realms campaign world of D&D, a part of the Legend of Drizzt series (from Wikipedia):
 

 

 
So whilst I don't think he was directly involved (What you might be thinking of is How R.A. Salvatore Helped Bring Icewind Dale to Games Again for Dark Alliance), but it seems like Neverwinter Nights, and thus Neverwinter, are based on his work. I must say thank you for the question, It helped me learn something new.

This new Adams Family spin off/remake launched on Netflix on November 23rd (yeah, it was Wednesday HAHA!) and in my opinion, it's damn near faultless.  Netflix have admittedly been on a bit of a slide lately with the only a few recent hits like Stranger Things Season 4 and Squid Game.  So they needed something on the platform to get people talking and I think this definitely will.... a good thing considering the amount they must have invested in it!
 
As a kid I loved The Adams Family and The Adams Family Values movies.  I'm sure I remember catching one or two episodes of the show as well I would say that Wednesday Addams was probably my favourite character (certainly in the movies).  I hadn't really been following anything about it, in fact I don't I was aware of this maybe a couple of weeks ago but I got pretty exited.
 
The premise is that Wednesday Addams (played brilliantly by Jenna Ortega) after getting kicked out of school and sent to Nevermore Academy, a special boarding school for "outcasts".  In this world an outcast is anyone who isn't a normal human, or "normie".  This includes Werewolfs, Vampires, Sirens, psychics and so on.  Upon arrival she soon discovers a conspiracy that could bring tragedy to the school and everyone in it and she may be the only one that can stop it.  It's also entirely possible that she is the direct cause of all the suffering, pain, and death but, she's Wednesday Fucking Addams, so nothing is going to stop her getting to the truth either way!
She is joined in new quest for the truth by a number of her fellow students.  Most notably Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers), a Werewolf who is was sent to Nevermore by her family because she is struggling to find her bite, so to speak.  She's bubbly, sociable and bursting with colourful positivity... everything Wednesday of course is not.  The dynamic of these polar opposites playing off each other is incredibly entertaining throughout.
 
I'm not going to go into any detail about the story here, your obviously better of discovering that yourselves.  I just wanted to gush about how good this and why I feel it's worth your time.  We see a lot of "modern twists" of classic material these days and very often if falls flat and pales in comparison to their original's.  Wednesday is very much a modern twist on of the Addams Family and for that reason alone I could see why some people would be put off.  However, it's clear that Tim Burton knew what he was doing and had a clear idea of what to keep authentic and what to take in a different direction and in my opinion he made the right choice almost every time.  He took the classic character of Wednesday, put her in a modern setting while retaining the same morbid charm and wit that made her such an iconic character.
 
Not that I'm giving Mr Burton all the credit.  After watching this performance I now have mad respect for Jenna Ortega:
 

 
 
After watching Christina Ricci's (who is in this show as well) flawless portrayal of Wednesday back in the 90's I honestly thought there is no way anyone could do it better without basically playing copy cat...
 
Yeah, I've been waiting years for an excuse to use this clip, bite me!
 
...but Ortega's dedication to the part is phenomenal she has made it her own.  Of course this is the first time we see Wednesday as a teenager and as the focal point so we get to explore aspects of her personality that we haven't go the see before.  Her performance feels totally authentic to the character but still feels fresh and new.  Not to mention she had to acquire a skill set that give Leonardo da Vinci a run for his Mona Lisa!  I mean she had to learn Archery, Fencing, Martial Arts, The Cello, Fast Typewriting and more!  I would rip off my underwear and wave it in surrender just listing these!  Ethen Hunt would tell these producers to fuck off!
 
So what are your thoughts on Wednesday?  Post down below and thanks for reading.

And it was great, actually. They created a fun, gothic story with some real, legitimate drama, superb acting from pretty much everyone and they really nailed the sardonic sense of humour perfectly. The really nailed the main character and brough her bang up to date by very cleverly leaving Wednesday herself stuck in the past. Jenna Ortega plays Wednesday exactly as we know and love her with her quite and sarcastic, yet slightly menacing and creepy demurer. The show also isn't afraid to get a little bit violent which I think works.
 
It also looks superb. the cinematography and visual style work well because the establish a great contrast to our main characters in a subtle, but very effective way. Tim Burton is known for his gothic and morbid visual style as well as aforementioned contrast that to something more bright and optimistic and his fingerprints are all over this. The music is interesting because, as far as I can tell, its made up almost entirely of classical instrumental covers of famous pop and rock sones. They managed to work in Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" into there as well, extra points for that. Regardless of the source for the music, it suits well with the intended tone. It does not, however, make up for the fact that delightful Adam's Family theme song is nowhere to be found here, which is a shame.
 
The story is intelligent without leaving the viewer behind. There is some pacing problem in that I think the first half of the series maybe a bit slow with the second half maybe a fast, but it draws you in and keeps you engaged. It's not "laugh out loud" hilarious, like I said its dry and sardonic and it's more content to "pick it's moments" rather that drown you in comedy. This was a smart move as the drama needs time in this to set and make it's impact, and it does with the comedy prompting nice breaks in between.
 
Issues? Well, not much but there was one thing that did bother me. This series is obviously set in another universe whare mythical creatures like Vampires, Werewolves and Sirens exist and are know in society as "outcasts". In fact, the series is set in a boarding school for outcasts. This bothered me because, to me, The Adams Family was always about an abnormal and morbid family interacting with a normal, innocent world. A strange family mixing in with a normal world, but the world here is itself strange. It's not like the series has a particularly imaginative or fresh take on these creatures, them and thier differences to normal people and how they interreact with this world is barley even focused on, so I really didn't see the purpose of this. This does work it's way in a big way into the story in ways I won't spoil, but that's an issue for me as well because it feels like thier changing The Adams Family to fit the plot rather than creating a plot to fit the characters.
 
Still, it's a great series that's well worth a watch and I would highly recommend it.

I wouldn't reed too much into this. Companies file patents to prepare for "maybe's" in the market all time with no definite intent to actually do anything with them. NFT's have already gone out of fashion and Sony know that. If I were Sony, I would have patented tech to take advantage of the trend as well just in case they the turned out not to be wasteful, flash-in-the-pan, unsustainable fad that they they were. And I say that in the past tense proudly because the are dead.
 
NFT's are dead, Sony know that, all they were doing is covering thier bases. No reason to panic.

Getting back on topic.
 
6/10 I get what you're saying about it, it's good theme, just that memorable to me. Honestly, I think it may have worked better as a movie theme because it's one of those musical pieces that would help set a mood during opening credits to lead onto the firsts scene, but in a game the first thing you come across is the main title screen and menu, something you're busy on and will probable blast past in few moments with really letting the music do it's thing. A nice piece of music, but not great for a game, even a game as story heavy as Mafia II.

Correct, and that's why I'm removing his post (This does mean editing your post as well @Tonberry, I hope you don't mind). This is @Justin11 posting a reply without paying attention to what the topic is, something that happens a lot for him and it's been getting worse recently.
 
@Justin11, I can't say anything to you I haven't already said in my numerous PM's and warnings before, that's why I'm doing this on the public forum this time, see if that makes a difference. Start paying attention to what you post, you know, like when people do when the actually care about what the post, or you will no longer be allowed to post on VGR at all.

No human being will ever say something this awesome. From the video around 9:22:
 
"One of the saddest parts of The Last Of Us is that Ellie can't whistle. Whistling can be useful. It can help you communicate when you can't speak, it can help you start a fire or help you ward off pesky bugs. Whistling is a sign of a true adult ,and when you whistle, puberty is not far behind."

We've already had a conversation over PM, but welcome to VGR. The channel looks promising.

Hey guys, im Woody an old skool gamer, who has been gaming since i was about 8 years old on my Spectrum Sinclair 128k, which is what started my obsession lol anyhoo im 44 years young now so that is a hell of a lot of gaming and a lot of stick ive taken over the years for my obsession, as if i had a penny for every time ive been told that i need to grow up, that games are for kids not grown men, well firstly i dont give a badgers nadgers what anyone else thinks, i love games and gaming and will never change for no one or nothing. Games have gotten me through some of the hardest times in my life, which if i had not had the escape of games, god knows what the outcome would have been!  Secondly a lot of the types of games i play are definitely not for kids and if the people with that view of games were to actually see and experience these games they would see why! lol 
Anyway fellow gamers lets get to my reason for asking for help! I've also always wanted to stat my own Gaming YouTube Channel, again against all there advice from the doubters in my life who said im wasting my time, where not only can I upload some of the best story based games ever made and show the haters exactly why games are so good, not always for kids and have had so much work and thought put into them, but will also allow people who cannot game, either due to just not being any good at playing them, not being able to afford the hardware needed to do so or having some disability that does not allow them to game. I've tried to cater for all tastes on the channel, for example i upload 2 versions of every video, one with commentary and one without, as not everyone likes some Yorkshire twat talking over the game while trying to enjoy it! 🙂 This is twice the work, but again im not scared of a bit of graft if the content is going to be enjoyed! This has been an ambition of mine for many years now and up until lately, one or another reasons has always prevented me from going for it, be it money, work, self esteem/belief or the knowledge needed to capture, decode, edit, export or upload video's to YouTube, which i have now had to learn from scratch and is way more complex and work than i could have ever possibly imagined and takes way more time to do than i ever dreamed it would, so my hat goes off to all the content creators out there as i now know your plight lol, but its also great fun learning new skills and making a completed upload that you are happy with, dont get me wrong my uploads are nowhere near at the level of quality that i want them to be eventually, but i only started about a month ago, so ill get there in the end, ill make sure of it! My future plans for the channel are also quite ambitious, as i dont just want to upload games, i want to actually go to the game developers premises, interview the dev's and get the inside skinny of how the game was conceived, made and released, plus get a look at the actual place where they were made. I would also like to visit the places where the games are set and if based on real life locations, do side by side comparisons of the real and game worlds, again to show how much work and effort has gone into making the game what it is. I also in the much further future, want to secure a property for the channel, which can not only be used as a studio to make future videos, but to fill with every computer and console ever made, going right back to the beginning of gaming, so i can create a space for like minded gamers to meet up and establish new friendships and for the younger gen of gamers to come see and experience where it all began and how far things have come, so yeah obviously that is a long long way off yet and just a dream at this point, but every reality starts as a dream or an idea! 🙂
So yeah guys the purpose of this post was to hopefully ask for helps from others like me who love games and gaming and to ask if you would visit my channel and see what you think! Im open to ideas, feedback and opinions and if you like what you see and want to support my channel and become part of the Immersion Gaming community, then liking my vids or especially subscribing to my channel would really help me out at this point and would be more appreciated than i could express on here, as this really is a dream come true  chance for me, if i can make it work, which im 110% committed too, but i cant do it without the support of like minded people!
Anyway im sorry for the length of this short novel sized post, this was the short version hahahaha! 🙂
I wish you all the best for the future, take care of yourselves!
Woody
Immersion Gaming
Channel Link
https://www.youtube.com/@immersiongaming22/playlists
 
 

The sequel Middle Earth: Shadow of War has actually been out for quite some time. Not sure if there's another game in the works.

How did my life bring me to a point whare I'm even being asked that question?

I actually desperately want to say you're both wrong , but unfortunately I have to agree. The key to a strategy game, what literally makes a strategy game, is that it should take literally no skill to play. It may be cool that you can juggle chess pieces, but it won't make you better at chess. What true strategy game needs is an interface that's there to allow the player to oversee and situation with a vast verity of control options right there to implement thier idea's in a timely enough manner to execute them, it's no about skill and timing from a smaller scale perspective like what gamepads have been developed to do well. On console, the interface just isn't designed for this sort of thing, not like on PC whare the interface itself was designed to be a utility to begin with. Games like AoE were made to get the best out of that utility style interface, and why not? Console gamers have every right to enjoy these kinds of games if the want to, so I'm long way from objecting to them being made available to console gamers, but that doesn't change the fact that this is not a straightforward thing to port over and I highly doubt that even with the best effort the Xbox version will not be as easy to play as the PC version.

Coolio died yesterday (9-28-2022) at a friends house. He was 59 years old. Apparently he just dropped dead in the bathroom. He finally reached the Gangstas Paradise.
Rest In Peace, Coolio. You have earned it.
August 1, 1963 to September 28, 2022
 
I would embed Gangstas Paradise, but I'm unable to embed anything for some reason.
Michelle Pfeiffer Remembers the Late Rapper Coolio as “Nothing But Gracious”

Giving AI freedom to do what it wants becomes viral like and will end up breaking its own game. You would have to set limits, and when you do that it becomes regular programmed AI like what we are used to. How can they create different story paths? That would end up being some random wacky shit that throws the whole story off. Unless it's a free roam open world with no story, then the AI can generate random quests. But a whole story? I don't see it being possible. I think the closest that comes to that is AC Odyssey where every village has message boards that has a bunch of side quests you can choose to do. And new ones are updated every day. Then when you do the quest, the AI randomly places a bandit camp on the map you go and attack. But to be able to instantly create a city or major story arc, the game will probably need to constantly be updated and our internet speeds and system speeds aren't up to the task yet. And reading other comments, I can agree that it would make the NPC's too challenging for the game. In a horror game, the sentient AI would be extremely scary, which is a good thing. You can even have a camera attached and the AI can see your room and say, "I will jump through that mirror next to that glass table, and strangle you with those shoe laces." I wouldn't be able to go to sleep after that. 

Because game streaming is the future, like it or not, I really doubt a major company is going to throw thier hat into the ring and come out with a new console now, it's just not worth it.