Lately, I've been really enjoying a PC game called Into The Breach. It's a game that has elements of turn-based tactical, board games, and RPGs. Basically very simple to get into, but surprisingly deep and fun to play. It's also much more forgiving than their earlier game, FTL: Faster Than Light (which was fun, but crushingly difficult). Highly recommended.
https://subsetgames.com/itb.html
Has anyone else seen/played it?
Nope, but it's now on my Steam wishlist. Thanks for the rec!
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
Right on. I hope you like it!Originally Posted by Jerjo
I had an old (OLD!) PC game called "Breach" that this reminds me of. I wonder if it's somehow an updated version?
Oh I think I remember that one! The only one I actually had was Breach 3. If memory serves, it was a top-down (or isometric) squad based tactical/strategy game, with a sci-fi setting. One of the coolest things about it was that it had a mission editor, where you could create your own maps and play through them. Those were the good old days!
Anyone remember Cyber Empires? It was sort of like a very simplistic Risk or Civ game, except that combat was handled in real time and the players controlled robot soldiers to fight each other. Spent so many hours on that one as a kid...
It was Breach 2 that I had:
Ah yeah, I remember seeing that one although I never got to play it. The late 80s and early 90s were a pretty interesting time for computer games, IMO. I get nostalgic for that period quite often.
Me too! Many of my favorite games were DOS games and released in the early to mid 90s.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Is anyone here familiar with the Nintendo Switch? I can't figure our if there's any media involved or if all games are downloads. My son wants it.
Switch uses cartridges. You can also DL games.
It’s a great system. You (or, rather, your son) can play the same games on the go or docked to a tv.
Be sure to get him a controller, too. Playing on the tv with the included option is not preferable.
https://www.amazon.com/Nintendo-Swit...pCL&ref=plSrch
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
Yeah, what polmico said.
I have Switch myself, and it's great. I've got a few games on cartridges, like Zelda: BotW and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but there's a ton of games available digitally as well.
The separate controllers are nice, but I've never had a problem using the included joy-cons with the holder.
Grand Theft Auto IV. I've been playing this game for about a month, now. There's a lot that's fun about this game, and if it wasn't for certain idiotic AI behavior and what appears to be a bug or two - or just plain bad design and/or coding - I'd give this game a solid 4˝ (out of 5) stars. As is, I think it's a 4, at best. So, it's still a really good game.
It's also funny. The protagonist, your character, Niko Bellic has quite the subtle sense of humor which you'll notice in his responses to his friends and girlfriends. One friend, Brucie, is a fitness buff who's tweaked on steroids. He's kind of annoying but he's also funny as hell and with a lot of energy. Another friend is Little Jacob, a very chill Jamaican drug runner whose accent and Jamaican slang makes his dialogue incomprehensible. Captions are a must when you're hanging with Jacob.
Other funny things I've noticed about this game are comments from Niko's girlfriend(s). There's a lawyer he sees and after she invites him up to her apartment after a date, you hear her say, "you can prosecute me anytime." There are also some great comments from tertiary characters on the street. For anyone who's considering getting this game I won't spoil them for you.
For everyone else, highlight: there's a mentally unstable guy I assume is homeless who, if you bump into him, will shout, "I don't have any bananas!" (or something like that). And then there are the comments you hear after you do something reckless in your car or bump into someone with it. I think the one I've heard most often is "cheesy vaginas" (similar to "Jesus Christ" or "judas priest"). And just the other day, some guy called me a "chicken cunt."
One of the things you need to do in this game is go out with your friends for some fun; well, technically, you don't have to, but once that person's "like" rating gets up to 75%, they will provide a useful service. Some of the things you can do are go out to eat, go drinking, go to a show, go to a strip club, or go play a game. There are three in-game activities you can play with your friends & dates: pool, darts, and bowling. Pool sucks and is, IMO, pretty badly designed; I've won about 40% of the games. Darts is a little too easy, I think; I've won 95% of the time which should really be 98% because I purposely lost one game. Bowling is probably the most fun but is kind of challenging to do really well. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy to bowl between a 160 and 199. Getting over 200 is difficult. Getting over 210 is really difficult; I've only done it three times. Over all, tho, I've won about 75% of the time.
There's also an old school video game called CUB3D located at a few spots; one in the Triangle Club. It's similar to Tetris but, imo, is actually more fun. It's pretty easy to beat the high score (less than 11,000) on the game but it also has a steep learning curve if you want to do really well. I found the instructions online that really helped. It's a game you can only play by yourself, tho.
The game does have cheats, which you call on your cell phone. I made the mistake of using too many early in the game. For me, there's really only three, possibly 4, that I want to use, now: to spawn a motorcycle, a certain car (a Turismo; the car to use to run races for Brucie), and to remove my wanted status. The other one I feel ambiguous about, now, is to restore health because I've gotten really good at fire fights. Besides, there are plenty of places around town to get health packs. And speaking of restoring health, something this game does that I think is a great idea is that if your health gets low, you can restore it by going to a fast food restaurant, buying a soda from vending machine, or getting something to eat from a street vendor.
The last thing I want to mention that I love about this game is that, unless you're careful, you won't have a car much or most of the time but there is an elevated train/subway system that enables you to get around town. Yeah, I know, it's kind of antithetical to the game. And it's not perfect; there are not enough stops in a couple of areas and only one transfer station in the whole city. But it's really handy when you're without a car and can't boost one at the moment.
Like all the open world video games (e.g. Red Dead Redemption and Far Cry), this one can take a while to get through. So if you're enjoying it, it really is a good investment of money & time.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
Got Red Dead Redemption 2 and Horizon Zero Dawn for xmas, both seem pretty damn good so far.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
Oh, shit. How could I forget???
Whenever you're in a car or on a motorcycle, or even in a cab, there are numerous radio stations you can listen to. They run the gamut. My favorites are jazz, fusion (yes, you read that right!), classic rock, "Massive B" (which is sorta like reggae but not really), and ambient/new wave.
Some of the artists you'll hear, depending on the station:
Gong
Roy Ayers
Grover Washington
Marc Moulin
Billy Cobham
Tom Scott & The L.A. Express
Count Basie
Chet Baker
John Coltrane
Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers
Miles Davis
Charlie Parker
Roy Haynes
Sonny Rollins
Dizzy Gillespie
Duke Ellington
Fela Kuti
Lonnie Liston Smith
War
The O'Jays
Gil Scott-Heron
Terry Riley
Steve Roach
Michael Shrieve
Jean Michel Jarre
Philip Glass
Tangerine Dream
Steve Marriott
Godley & Creme
Stevie Nicks
Electric Light Orchestra
David Bowie
Black Sabbath
The Stooges
Thin Lizzy
Genesis (post-Hackett)
Queen
The Black Crowes
Joe Walsh
The Who
Elton John
Heart
The Isley Brothers
Marvin Gaye
Minnie Riperton
Barry White
The other thing I've started doing is when a commercial comes on the radio, I pull over and listen. Holy shit are they funny!
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
You can buy the radio station soundtracks as a box set. I have Vice City and San Andreas. Includes the talk radio stuff too.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
Both excellent games. I’ve been deep into RDR2 for about a month now. Definitely the best open world ever designed.
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
I have over 100/hours into No Mans Sky. Most I've put into a game since GTA IV.
I really dig it. My explanations won't do it justice but as a general matter is a procedurally generated open space/universe exploratory experience.
Yes it bombed on release (even though I was onboard then too) but commitment to updates and fixing really brought the game up many levels.
Some might find aspects repetitive (generating frigate fuel can be monotonous) but the game will surprise you.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
Interesting! I'm glad to hear that they have been making updates and fixes. That's the reason I haven't pulled the trigger yet on it, but if it's in a playable state currently I may just give it a chance now.
More than a playable state, went from laughingstock to Best Ongoing Game awards in 2018
The "neXt" update that Hello Games sent out about 8 months ago truly made the game as it should have been out of the box.
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
After reading about it, you've seriously piqued my interest. I may have to finally get a PS4.
I've seen that there are over 18 quintillion planets and the estimate is that it would take over 5 billion years of playing to visit every one.
Which raises some questions:
- How fast is your ship?'
- Does it obey Newtonian physics or does it fly more like a plane?
- If both, can you switch between the two?
- How long does it take to get from one planet to another, in both game & real time?
- Are there wormholes or any shortcuts for interplanetary travel?
- Do you play online or use online features?
- What's the purpose of getting to the center of the galaxy?
- What are the different weapons like?
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
There was a funny line on Stephen Colbert last night in a sort of skit, where his co-host complained that the new set looked like a nightclub from Grand Theft Auto.
NMS was released on XBOX One in summer 2018. So its available on PC PS4 and Xbox.
Before answering the specific questions, as a general matter it is so open that your playing style is truly your own. At a high level, you can take an Exploratory track, a Trading one or a Mercenary one. But you are not locked in at all. Or do it all!
Some build bases on planets to catalog fauna flora and minerals for money. Some become traders, hauling cargo between systems. Some only gather bounties etc.
I do all three things routinely, some more than others and sometimes dependent on my in game needs.
The thing that hooked me more than anything was when I 'died' the first time. As screen fades to black, the game serves up a short quote. My first quote was from my favorite author/series:
"The mystery of life is not a problem to solve, but a reality to experience' - Frank Herbert
I knew right then that I was going to play this he a lot.
1. How fast is your ship?' - There are multiple types of ships (e.g. hauler, fighter) Each type of ship can be one of four classes (C,B,A and S) Variety of engine types and enhancements too.
2. Does it obey Newtonian physics or does it fly more like a plane? - Plane on a planet, Newtonian style in space.
3. If both, can you switch between the two?
4. How long does it take to get from one planet to another, in both game & real time? - for the most part, game time is real time. Longest I ever had to travel across a solar system was 15 minutes and that was using pulse engines. Most 'travel' is not that long.
5. Are there wormholes or any shortcuts for interplanetary travel? - You use hyperdrive for travel between solar systems. Dependent on engine and enhancements and ship, one can jump far. Farthest i jumped without shortcut is about 200 light years. Not all my ships can do that. Travel between planets is done with thrusters and pulse engines. Farthest I jumped using a black hole (almost wrecked my ship) was over a million light years.
6. Do you play online or use online features? Game is technically always online though you can play without access. When you play single player there is a chance that a random person could appear. This has happened to me four times in 100 hours. You can also form a party and play like that.
7. What's the purpose of getting to the center of the galaxy? Not there! :-) however more resources, higher value goods and services it appears.
8. What are the different weapons like? - You have a multitool that acts as weapon, mining tool etc. Like ships different classes, styles and upgrade slots
- T
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
Great to hear!
Thanks for the info, I'm gonna put it on my shopping list now.
I hope you all enjoy it.
As a FYI, the first few hours are more like an in-game tutorial. Never the same but designed to teach you basic skillz and menu related stuff.
You will awaken without memory on a random generated planet with a damaged exosuit and you don't know where your craft is.
Anyone who does purchase/play let me know.
Would be cool to see how your game goes...
Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit
My daughter's friends at college got her hooked on Grand Theft Auto V, so for Xmas I went out and found her a used PS3 and a copy of GTA V. We ended up having to return the Play Station twice (disc reader on the first one was shot, the second one would overheat and lock up) and the game disc three times (unreadable due to scratches) before we finally got a combination that worked. I swear everything I've ever bought in my life that's made by Sony and costs more than a pair of cheap headphones has been crap from a durability standpoint. Don't even get me started on the piece of junk 100-disc CD player I bought in the 90s.
Anyway, she left the console at home when she went back to school, so I've been playing it an hour or two now and then. I was surprised to see in the opening credits that Tangerine Dream did part of the soundtrack for the game, and the other day I was playing as Michael and when he went out to the pool to listen to some music, he put on Phil Collins' "I Don't Care Anymore".
And I agree about the radio ads in the car. Took me a while to actually start listening to them, but then I realized they're really funny. "The new iFruit 10 phone comes out in three days. Losers are already lining up in front of stores." "Live the American Dream in an oceanfront mansion. With immigrant housekeepers who hate you."
I've been an avid gamer since my dad bought the family a Magnavox Odyssey II for Christmas back in the 70s. From there it was Atari 2600, Colecovision, Commodore 64, NES, Nintendo 64 and a Wii. The PS3 came as a bit of a shock at how far graphics and gameplay have come. But I could do without the 5-minute long cut scenes. I'd rather PLAY a game, not WATCH it.
I also got hooked on MAME a few years ago and slowly but surely built an arcade emulator, complete with cabinet, two joysticks and a trackball. Plays 1000 arcade games plus emulators for all the Atari, Coleco and Commodore games of my youth.
--
The internet was better before Berners-Lee let the riff-raff in.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks