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Post by Niccc on Jan 6, 2019 7:45:30 GMT
I think Dragon Age 2 has the weakest group of companions.
Varric & Isabela are great. I like Carver a lot.
But Bethany and Aveline are just meh -- they're alright. I couldn't give two shits about Sebastian and Merill. And fuck Anders and Fenris both so much. Anytime I tried to be friendly to Fenris simply because I've been his rival for literally all my playthroughs he just throws it back in my face so fuck that guy, I've given up. And Anders has such a hard-on for mages and a gigantic hate-boner for templars that if I'm not literally killing myself for the mages than I'm considered a templar apologist or some bullshit. Fuuuuck him.
I usually just roll with Varric, Isabela and Carver because I can't bother with anyone else.
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Post by Lyric 💗💜💙 on Jan 6, 2019 10:47:35 GMT
Oh wow, good advice thanks. Yeah I sort of wish there was a way to like, talk to him and maybe try and change his mind? Like, there's a bit early where he found out Hawke was a mage and it seemed like he was willing to give her a chance and I thought that might lead to something but then he just hates it whenever I don't opt to just murder or imprison every mage I come across so Then there's Merill who seems... a little.... um, off? And Anders who I really really liked in Awakening. And Isabelle who, I haven't met yet. You can kind of bring Fenris back a little on the mage hate as you go on, and I believe it might go faster and rougher (heh) in a rivalmance. But, for all of DA2's many many flaws I don't think that having the characters be set like they are is one of them. Well, it's a bit too drastic with some )cough ANDERS AND FENRIS cough) but I felt it gave them a sense of being more real. They have their own stalwart beliefs and it takes a lot to change them. It's far from perfect, but the game's development cycle was almost cut in half by EA from what I heard. I dislike Merrill with an intensity that is entirely uncalled for, but she rubs me the wrong way in every conversation. I rarely take her out in the party. Part of it might be that they changed her voice actress and personality from Origins so she feels like a different character. I liked Anders in Awakening too. He was, in fact, one of my favorite companions there, but I have a few issues with how he is in 2. Isabela suffers from some of the same problems Merrill does, and while I do have several qualms with her they aren't nearly as intense as my issues with the other three options, so she won my Hawke's heart by being the least bad, and a bit of a Han Solo knock off. Merill was in Origins? I must've missed her I guess, otherwise I just don't remember. I've had her in my party more or less constantly since I recruited her, and I honestly really like her? She's awkward and naive in a way I think is really cute and I love her interactions with Varric and Isabela especially, but the whole uh... blood mage thing. That feels like it might be a problem. Just had a convo with Fenris upon entering the Gallows and he's now so far down the rival path there's no way I could turn that back around so ok. I still really like him though even as he hates every mage that isn't Hawke. As far as romance I still have no idea bc at the moment, I really like Isabela, Merill, Anders, and even still Fenris. So like, idk, I always get caught between the romanceable characters in bioware games. I still honestly don't feel great about going with Josephine over Blackwall in Inquisition, and same with Leliana instead of Zevran(or even Alistar) in Origins. I'm actually enjoying 2 so far? I do think streamlining the combat and such from Origins is a really good idea bc it's just a lot more enjoyable to play, and I'm actually engaging with the tactics and setting up battleplans to follow through and all that. The writing seems really sharp and I've enjoyed a lot more of the sidequests than I did in Origins, but the way companions are handled in general really irks me. It just doesn't feel right not being able to talk to them outside of the specific times you can have one conversation with them at their home. I'm warming to the rivalry/friendship thing, though. |
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Post by Rock114 on Jan 6, 2019 14:01:27 GMT
You can kind of bring Fenris back a little on the mage hate as you go on, and I believe it might go faster and rougher (heh) in a rivalmance. But, for all of DA2's many many flaws I don't think that having the characters be set like they are is one of them. Well, it's a bit too drastic with some )cough ANDERS AND FENRIS cough) but I felt it gave them a sense of being more real. They have their own stalwart beliefs and it takes a lot to change them. It's far from perfect, but the game's development cycle was almost cut in half by EA from what I heard. I dislike Merrill with an intensity that is entirely uncalled for, but she rubs me the wrong way in every conversation. I rarely take her out in the party. Part of it might be that they changed her voice actress and personality from Origins so she feels like a different character. I liked Anders in Awakening too. He was, in fact, one of my favorite companions there, but I have a few issues with how he is in 2. Isabela suffers from some of the same problems Merrill does, and while I do have several qualms with her they aren't nearly as intense as my issues with the other three options, so she won my Hawke's heart by being the least bad, and a bit of a Han Solo knock off. Merill was in Origins? I must've missed her I guess, otherwise I just don't remember. I've had her in my party more or less constantly since I recruited her, and I honestly really like her? She's awkward and naive in a way I think is really cute and I love her interactions with Varric and Isabela especially, but the whole uh... blood mage thing. That feels like it might be a problem. Just had a convo with Fenris upon entering the Gallows and he's now so far down the rival path there's no way I could turn that back around so ok. I still really like him though even as he hates every mage that isn't Hawke. As far as romance I still have no idea bc at the moment, I really like Isabela, Merill, Anders, and even still Fenris. So like, idk, I always get caught between the romanceable characters in bioware games. I still honestly don't feel great about going with Josephine over Blackwall in Inquisition, and same with Leliana instead of Zevran(or even Alistar) in Origins. I'm actually enjoying 2 so far? I do think streamlining the combat and such from Origins is a really good idea bc it's just a lot more enjoyable to play, and I'm actually engaging with the tactics and setting up battleplans to follow through and all that. The writing seems really sharp and I've enjoyed a lot more of the sidequests than I did in Origins, but the way companions are handled in general really irks me. It just doesn't feel right not being able to talk to them outside of the specific times you can have one conversation with them at their home. I'm warming to the rivalry/friendship thing, though. Merrill was a character in the Dalish Elf origin, I believe being an old friend of the Dalish Warden before the darkspawn stuff. So if you imported a Dalish Warden save then Merrill would mention that the hero of Ferelden came from her tribe, at some point. Human Mage Warden is actually a cousin of Hawke's in fact, but I forget your character from Origins so I don't know if that applies. It's just interesting. Isabela was also in Origins, but they overhauled her WAY more than Merrill. She was in the tavern in Denerim and could offer to have some wacky sex antics with you and certain combinations of Alistair, Zevran, and Leliana. Varric is also best character in 2. They planned a romance for him but cut it before release, and that makes me more upset than I'd like to admit. |
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Post by Lyric 💗💜💙 on Jan 7, 2019 10:42:43 GMT
lol so I flirted with Anders literally once in Act 1 and all of sudden in Act 2 he's all "I can't lose you, you mean everything to me". I would assume he means as a friend but all my dialogue options are either a heart of a broken heart. And the broken heart ones are so mean! So, even though I'm going ahead and romancing Fenris despite us being rivals, I guess I'm.... also... romancing Anders? This will probably cause problems later but oh well.
Thing is, with DA2 being shorter than Origins or Inquisition, I might have more time for replays with it, so idk, maybe I will eventually romance every character because aside from Sebastian, I kinda want to see what happens with each of them.
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Post by Zeruis on Jan 8, 2019 3:00:00 GMT
Finished KH2, definitely in my top 10 favorite games of all time. It's amazing how I hadn't played this series already. The combat was better than KH1, most of the worlds (save for Agrabah and the Lion King world) were all fun to explore and visit multiple times, and the story, though I was bit confused at times, was still nice to follow. From where I ended, I'm looking forward to seeing where it all goes.
Taking a break before watching 358/2 Days. I'm a bit burnt out after KH2.
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Post by Zeruis on Jan 11, 2019 3:05:35 GMT
Catherine just got ported to Steam, amazingly. For anyone who hasn't played it yet, I'd highly recommend it.
Great puzzle game about relationships and human emotions. Lots of choices to be made, too.
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Post by mmm on Jan 11, 2019 9:58:12 GMT
Catherine just got ported to Steam, amazingly. For anyone who hasn't played it yet, I'd highly recommend it. Great puzzle game about relationships and human emotions. Lots of choices to be made, too. I played it years ago, it's way better than it has any right to be. It's probably better just waiting for the new version that's coming out at some point though. |
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Post by Niccc on Jan 11, 2019 19:44:43 GMT
Started playing Star Wars the Old Republic. Not a fan of the membership MMORPG style but I like the game so far well enough. Played about 4 hours last night as the Gunslinger class. I hear there's about 8 origin stories, with the Gunslinger being one of them.
I've been playing my Gunslinger character as a dude just looking to do whatever it takes to get credits. Although, he's kind of a rogue with a heart of gold. The VA is pretty entertaining when giving certain lines so that helps.
I think I'm about to leave the Starter planet and head to Coruscant(?)
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Post by mmm on Jan 11, 2019 20:53:24 GMT
Played the Resident Evil 2 30 minute demo, good game though I feel like only giving your 30 minutes was a mistake since you either have to rush it and ruin the experience or risk not seeing it all, any way here's my stats or whatever for when I finished it. Definitely going to buy it.  |
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Post by Tormundo on Jan 12, 2019 0:43:51 GMT
Played the Resident Evil 2 30 minute demo, good game though I feel like only giving your 30 minutes was a mistake since you either have to rush it and ruin the experience or risk not seeing it all, any way here's my stats or whatever for when I finished it. Definitely going to buy it. There's a trainer to freeze the timer, it came out a few hours ago. Honestly, I wish I would've known that before playing lol |
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Post by Rock114 on Jan 12, 2019 0:51:01 GMT
Started playing Star Wars the Old Republic. Not a fan of the membership MMORPG style but I like the game so far well enough. Played about 4 hours last night as the Gunslinger class. I hear there's about 8 origin stories, with the Gunslinger being one of them. I've been playing my Gunslinger character as a dude just looking to do whatever it takes to get credits. Although, he's kind of a rogue with a heart of gold. The VA is pretty entertaining when giving certain lines so that helps. I think I'm about to leave the Starter planet and head to Coruscant(?) Each of the eight classes has their own storyline all the way up to Level 50, all taking place concurrently and occasionally having some slight overlap (Example: My Jedi Knight met with one of the Agent's companions in one scene and one of my crew members talked about events that happened in the Bounty Hunter storyline). It'd be more interesting if it wasn't watered down to fit the framework of an MMO, but it was a neat idea at least. KOTOR 1 and 2 are vastly superior games. But SWTOR is free, so it has that going for it. |
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Post by mmm on Jan 13, 2019 1:07:49 GMT
I might try to get enough time to start streaming JackBox again, which has been hard to do lately for various reasons, but if I do it might be worth streaming through Discord instead since there's no delay, but I dunno if everyone who plays has Discord.
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Post by harp on Jan 14, 2019 4:58:54 GMT
Which one of y'all is silverback on switch? Also you all still need to get smash
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Post by harp on Jan 14, 2019 4:59:41 GMT
I might try to get enough time to start streaming JackBox again, which has been hard to do lately for various reasons, but if I do it might be worth streaming through Discord instead since there's no delay, but I dunno if everyone who plays has Discord. discord definitely. If people don't have discord they can just do the browser version |
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Post by Rock114 on Jan 16, 2019 8:00:36 GMT
So I got the urge to finish playing Dishonored 2, and I did. I quit halfway through about a year ago when I got it because I was going through some stuff and lost the energy to do much. But starting over last week it is a pretty good game. Some parts of the story fall flat in comparison to the first game but the slew of new gameplay tactics makes up for that, namely the massive expansion of nonlethal options. You can choke a guy out after parrying him in combat, do a nonlethal drop assassination, new crossbow bolts to cause enemies to flee, Domino shenanigans, hell, even shoot a man in the leg with a normal bolt then kick him into unconsciousness when he's on the ground. I'd say that there are almost as many viable nonlethal options as lethal ones now, which is a huge plus. You can still just chokehold people from the shadows but that's only one of many viable options. And since certain enemies like the Clockwork Soldiers don't contribute to Chaos rating even nonlethal players have a few moments where they can finally let loose and unleash the full might of their arsenal when you go up against them. The levels are all fun and unique. I feel like most of the effort was put into the gameplay and level design, and it shows. I don't think that was a bad decision, even if I would have preferred a better story, because the levels are just so fun. The Clockwork Mansion deathmaze, the Stilton Manor stuck between multiple points in time that you can alter through actions in the past, it's all flashy and impressive and plays to the series strength of smart levels and fluid, fun varied gameplay. The story was a similar plot to the first one, but not done quite as well, which is saying something since 1's story was pretty basic. The villains are more fleshed out, but the targets feel too... disconnected from each other, I guess. Maybe that's just me but it felt like less of a tightly knit conspiracy than the villains of the first game, where you knew who they were, their roles in the conspiracy, and why you had to take them out. Here I never got that sense. And the ironic nonlethal punishments are no longer ironic, which takes half the fun out of them. Branding the nation's top holy man as a heretic? Enslaving the two corrupt nobles in their own awful mine? Those are classic. Here the closest you get is lobotomizing Jindosh. Also, the "crisis" in the game doesn't feel nearly as dire as the plague from Dishonored 1 where the entire city was dying in front of your eyes. Here it's a bunch of monstrous mosquitoes called Bloodflies that turn people into zombie-esque husks to nest in them, but this is apparently something that happens every year in Karnaca so in Low Chaos it's more of a "Business as usual" vibe instead of the apocalyptic withering of the city that was the rat plague. BUT there are more ending variations here, which depend on who you kill and spare. Example, I killed Character X, then in a later level saved Character Y, so Y took over X's position, but I also could have just fucked off and not saved Y, so in this one part there are three different states on my Low Chaos run. Maybe it's not quite as wide reaching as it seems at first glance, but that's still impressive when the first game only tracked Chaos level. One story failure that can't be forgiven, though: No DAUD. Sure he's in Death of the Outsider, which I haven't played yet, but damn he was the only really great character in the series. Others are alright, or entertaining, but for the most part lacked true depth. Not him. He's the best out of all the main characters by a long shot. I played as Emily and went Low Chaos on my first run, and I think that's the way the game should be played. The other options aren't less viable but this is what feels right to me. I'm currently going back through playing as Corvo doing High Chaos so I'll see if the endings have decent variations or not. Lethal gameplay is still super fun and FAR more brutal than the first game. Tons of blood and screaming, hacking limbs off, or literally pulling people apart when skulking around as a freaky shadow monster. It's not my preferred style of play but I can't deny how well done it all is. So yeah, I liked it. Despite some disappointing lapses in the quality of the writing the fantastic level design, fluid gameplay, and slew of new tactics and abilities made up for that, but Dishonored was always more refined on the technical level than the narrative one anyway. I'd say an 8/10, possibly a 9 depending on how well a High Chaos playthrough diverges from a Low Chaos one. |
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Happy 10th Anniversary to The Walking Dead Game 
