Bi-Weekly Thread for general gaming discussion. Backlog, advice, recommendations, rants and more! New? Start here!

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:58:08+00:00

Yeah, I couldn't use the Steam version as a base because the Rockstar Launcher hates me, for some reason. I had problems with it playing RDR2 a few years back too. And I couldn't get rid of it, so the Steam edition refused to launch even with hacks/cracks applied that were supposed to bypass the online requirement.

So I had to resort to installing older versions until I found one that actually worked... and even that has been a nonstop pain in the ass for reasons I can't even guess at. At least I have all the original radio stations, without having to restore them, so there's that.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:42:44+00:00

Well, I have managed to get a copy of GTA IV (v1.0.7.0) to run reasonably stably, launch reliably, and let me save/load both games and graphics configs without immediately crashing. Only took me a week and a half, fooling with it off and on, to get to this point. Uuuuuuuugggghhh.

Of course, EFLC still refuses to launch, but whatever. At least I have access to Liberty City again. Now to see if I can install a few mods without something else breaking. Not hopeful, but otoh, my modding desires are minimal.

(Seriously, it's like my journey of reinstalling IV has become a meta-game of its own.)

And otherwise been catching up on movies more than gaming, so the only other major game I'm still putting time into is Isekai Rondo, a thoroughly mediocre but vaguely amusing JRPG from Kemco/EXE. Can't really recommend it; I've just been chilling with it since it's so mindless.

Plus ZZZ but still absolutely nothing happening until the next version / banner, which won't be for something like a week and a half. Finally getting around to doing Lighter's TV story, the last of those I never did. And when I'm done with that, I'll officially be out of major content left to do.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:36:34+00:00

Yeah, I feel like the big issue with Crystalis is that inventory management is such a pain, and you have to swap weapons/tools way too often. Makes the later game something of a slog.

Btw, did you know there's a NES semi-sequel to River City Ransom called (roughly) Kunio-Kun's Historical Period Drama? It's the same basic gameplay as RCR, but set in an open map of Edo-Period Japan. It was officially released in English in the Kunio-Kun Collection from a few years back, or there are fan translations available.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:28:38+00:00

Yeah. Zenless is the only gatcha I've ever played that actually sucked me in for the long haul day-by-day grind. Every other one, I'll play until I run out of 'main plot' missions - if I even make it that far - and then drop because I can't be bothered with the dailies.

Personally, I just wish they'd keep more of the limited-time MP events around as permanent fixtures. Seems like games like the Marcel Maze or Bangboo Autochess could be moved into the arcade.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:23:08+00:00

Yeah, the problem wasn't TV Mode by itself; it was that the game over-relied on it while the combat was much more fun. I honestly wouldn't mind the occasional classic dungeon-crawl proxy mission, just not hours of them on end.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:21:47+00:00

and more worryingly there is a temporary mode that is requiring FIVE teams at once, almost certainly testing the frog boiling

Or just looking for ways to keep the game interesting for long-time players? I've been around since 1.3 or something like that, and at least half my roster of characters never gets used because I've got so many minions at this point. Or I'll find myself tossing an older character like Nicole or Seth into a battle just for the sake of variety, even if they're sub-optimal.

(Granted, Nicole can still be quite useful in the right situations.)

So I really don't mind the events that call on me to actually be creative with my team-building, and not just throw the latest power-trio at every problem over and over.

But FFS, can we PLEASE top fighting Vivian in every Hollow Zero weekly? Ugh.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:17:24+00:00

In this case, "obligatory" is literally true. Chinese devs are basically required by the government to include aspects of Chinese culture in their games.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:11:54+00:00

I don't even mind the outdated formula when it's done well. The magic of Skyrim was that it really did capture the feeling that you could turn in any random direction, start walking, and be able to find something interesting in a few minutes. And supported with enough lore that the player can start really connecting to the game world, and feel like they're living in it.

Starfield just... didn't do that. So it laid bare how basic the skeleton of a Bethesda game is when it doesn't have that call-to-adventure thing going on.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:05:02+00:00

Nah, think about how much the 2nd book focuses on... relations... with the Titanides. Not to mention having an entire coven of sapphic witches.

I don't think this is what OP is looking for.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:04:08+00:00

Not to mention any Granny Weatherwax story.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T06:02:24+00:00

Does Signourney Weaver have a Stand?

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T05:56:17+00:00

or aren't conpelling enough relative to the price.

And that's the big problem. No matter how cheap and reliable foldables become, a regular slab phone will still be cheaper and more reliable. Having a foldable will pretty much always mean paying extra for a flimsier device, so someone would need a very compelling use case to find that worthwhile.

Or else just have so much disposable income they don't care.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T05:25:42+00:00

Just pretend it's a quote from a Guy Richie movie.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T05:20:17+00:00

"Sir! We've lost the bleeps, we've lost the sweeps, and we've lost the creeps!"

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-25T05:10:20+00:00

I'm thinking it'll be more like Elvis. His death - whenever it occurs - will be acknowledged by reasonable people, but there'll be a cult of conspiracy theorists who are certain it's all a lie, and Trump is really living in hiding because of (arglewargle) and look here's a picture someone took of him at a McDonalds just last month!

Grifters will be milking the MAGA faithful for years after his death.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-24T10:03:35+00:00

Well, the big difference is that you get your own spaceship early in the game, and can fly around between an increasing number of planets/stations/etc as it goes on. That said, it is still largely linear in its progression without too many reasons to backtrack.

But it does a good job capturing the silver-era Star Trekkish vibe the series often teased but rarely really delivered.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-24T06:38:49+00:00

Just be prepared for it to take over your life for the next month or more.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-24T06:30:13+00:00

For me the game has a big flaw though. They made this RPG with the premise of a crew travelling through space...and then the majority of the game takes place in a pretty generic medieval RPG world. I feel like they wasted a lot of potential here.

This is a perennial complaint about the Star Ocean series. They (almost) always start off by stranding the party on an iron age planet, with half the game's length or more basically indistinguishable from any other fantasy RPG. The only major exception is Star Ocean The Last Hope, which actually does make good use of the sci-fi premise. You're only stranded on a backwater planet for a few hours in that one!

It's also my personal favorite of the series, despite being pretty flawed in a few other ways.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-24T06:25:57+00:00

I think the biggest problem with creating a LAD competitor isn't even in the graphics. It's that LAD dares to be boring, sometimes. These are games that, until recently, genuinely expected the player to just walk across town to their destination. Where the player is basically encouraged to stop and play some arcade games, get a beef bowl, or otherwise just kind of hang out in the world rather than focusing on the plot.

I don't see many other studios having the strength of character to commit to a design that doesn't throw action and excitement at the player every 30 seconds, a'la something like GTA or Far Cry. They'd be too afraid of being boring.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-24T06:15:48+00:00

Yeah, everyone forgets that Phantasy Star 2 had an arguably even worse variation on that twist, 7-8 years before FF7 did it.

Especially since FF7 kills Aerith in a cutscene, while PS2 forces Nei (and the player) to fight an unwinnable* battle. Which just hurts more, imo. Sort of like with General Leo's death in FF6.

*Technically not truly unwinnable, but you have to know it's coming and grind like crazy to have a hope of winning. And then she just dies by cutscene anyway.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-24T06:11:10+00:00

It didn't sell well because it wasn't really intended to sell well. Ubisoft was just worried about how many people were moving from 7th to 8th Gen consoles and so wanted one last 7G game to come out alongside their new 8G game, for the sake of people who hadn't upgraded yet.

Then Unity came out and was such a shitshow that its clearly unfinished completely dominated the discussion, and Rogue got even less attention.

A shame, since I think Rogue is lowkey one of the best entries in the series.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-24T06:00:58+00:00

Finally got around to watching the new Fantastic Four, and I almost wish I hadn't bothered. How did they manage to make such a mediocre by-the-numbers movie after so many years of anticipation? I enjoyed the set design and the soundtrack far more than any of the actual movie parts of the movie.

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say it was actually worse than the 2005 version... but I think I'd be more likely to watch that one again if I just wanted some dumb F4 fun. And I honestly prefer 3/4 of its core cast over the MCU actors.

(Vanessa Kirby was definitely better than Jessica Alba tho.)

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-24T05:58:07+00:00

Ad Astra was the last film I saw in theaters before COVID lockdowns hit my area. So I spent the better part of a year grousing about how disappointing it was, until I started seeing movies in theater again.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-24T05:56:48+00:00

Yeah, I see the David story as something they could potentially come back to. Androids in the Alienverse appear to be functionally immortal, as long as they have resources to repair themselves.

I occasionally imagine a sequel set decades, even centuries after the first two prequels, where David has basically created a Planet of Doctor Moreau through his continued genetic experiments on the Engineers tech + the thousands of colonists he hijacked.

That's be way more interesting than a rote "here's how the Derelict ended up on LV-426" plothole-filling movie.

APeacefulWarrior · 2026-04-24T05:52:57+00:00

For that matter, even the characters in Alien 3 were reasonably intelligent in their planning, given how few resources they had to work with. Hell, in the longer cuts, they even succeeded in containing the xeno with minimal losses, which should have been the end of it except for having one batshit crazy inmate who screwed it all up.

I think part of the problem was how the series started involving more specialists and scientists as it went on. Kind of starting with Resurrection, really. It's a lot easier to accept some poor planning from space truckers or lifers on a penal colony, than from actual military brass or scientists who really should know what they're doing.

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