Chatting about games

Anyone played Divinity Original Sin 2?

My PC's DVD drive still doesn't recognize discs, so I tried finding an ISO for MGS1, but unfortunately the file is corrupted. I'm going to try with another site.

The good thing is that I'm basically free all day tomorrow.

Uhh... I have a problem (gimme a break). I finally got what I assume is an uncorrupted ISO of MGS1, but no matter what I do, it shows a black screen right after I select Normal difficulty and the game freezes right after that, because the FPS count doesn't change at all.

I tried with two other ISO files, tried downloading both older and newer versions of the emulator, same deal. Does anyone know what might be causing this?

Hmm, not really sure what to do about that, sorry. Don’t have a lot of experience with ISOs.

@Nadster, you said that Birth By Sleep is one of your favourite games, mind elaborating on why? It's a really divisive title in the series.

I also happen to be quite interested in it.

@Phoenix Wright

Sometimes Isos can get corrupted on the extraction process. Do you mind showing me which iso you got?

@hedfone

You mean where I got it from, or...?

Yes

I got one from emuparadise, titled "Metal Gear Solid - Integral". I got the second one from coolrom, titled "Metal Gear Solid (Spain)". And I got the last one from emu-games (a spanish site).

And none of them work?

Is it the same issue every time?'

Sounds like a problem with the emulator.

The one I got from emuparadise was corrupted; I couldn't even extract the ISO properly.

The other two both share the same issue, yes.

I tested this with two versions of ePSXe (1.7.0 and 2.0.5), and even used different plugin combinations for each one, nothing.

@Infinity_Divide Sorry for the late reply, but I agree with you. MGS1 was very well made, but MGS2 is so much more deep, the perfect sequel. Some people keep attacking Raiden... they just want to talk about stupid things and avoid gameplay-related discussions. MGS4 gets criticized even now while they ignore how much fun it is to play (except some parts).

MGS2 is still the biggest improvement I’ve ever seen in a sequel, mechanically-speaking. The attention to detail and depth blows away just about everything I’ve played even 18 years later. And yeah, a lot of people dislike MGS2 because of Raiden but he plays the same as Snake(his cartwheel actually being better than Snake’s roll), so I don’t get the problem.

> Burnout

I've had a bit of burnout on action games over the last few months, I've been more excited about expanding my Marvel Cinematic Universe collection and playing some less mentally demanding games. I hope I'll feel a bit more motivated to finish my Urban Reign playthrough and make a start on my enormous action game backlog soon!

> MGS

One of the things I like most about the MG series (from the original MSX game all the way through to TPP) is that none of them play too similarly to each other. The mechanics and character handling change quite noticeably from game to game which made them feel more individual. Having said that, as previously mentioned, the mechanical handling of MGS2 is a big step up over MGS1.

I think that's something that more games should try, instead of just having the sequel be 'the same but with some added elements'. It is something I also really enjoyed with Ninja Gaiden, and to an extent with Devil May Cry, in that each entry really is a different title entirely with unique playstyles and detailing.


> Marvel Cinematic Universe collection
Got any pics?

Royta/Raeng wrote:> Marvel Cinematic Universe collection
Got any pics?

I ordered some shelves for it last night, so hopefully I'll have something to show later this week. It's a modest collection so far, but I'm working on it!

Sounds like bad isos which are out there. I would recommend torrent sites or US region isos.

>Birth By Sleep
I'll put it in "bullet" points(can't find them) since I somehow can't be bothered to write about it fully.

0 Mirage Arena and minigames
0 Being able to not only customize freely(sounds confusing since its similar in how KH2 is) but being able to combine them AND customizing Finishers.
0 Three different characters to use with their own "style powers"(can't remember if they have a name) and exclusive endgame abilities.

That said it also has it's own exclusive enemies despite having the same enemy roster. That said, take my opinion as someone who hasn't played KH2 in years and hasn't played KH3 yet.

I personally think that BBS is good, I like the deck system, the shotlock and the focus on dodging. However, I find the game kind of unbalanced and the boss design is meh. The basic enemies are very fun tho.

I liked the story as well, I don't think it reaches the highs of KH 2 or Days but it has some interesting moments.

Here is (yet another) version of the Action games tier list in case anyone wants to mess around with it:

https://tiermaker.com/create/general-action-games--267364

The Tales of games are missing, but this one has RE4 and Evil Within 1 & 2.

>Separates the Sigma games and Razor's Edge from eachother
>Has DOOM
>Has Nelo
>Has Assault Spy
>Has Nioh
>Has Chaos Legion

We're getting better, but it needs the Tales games.

Also, are Resident Evil 1-3 really action games? I'd consider those to be pure survival horror.

This is probably just me, but I wouldn't put series like Tales, Yakuza or even just Kingdom Hearts. Those games have way lesser focus on combat than other pure action titles, so I'm not sure if I should judge them as a complete package (so in a different manner compared to games like DMC and Bayonetta) or just the combat system (which isn't the focus of those titles). Either way, it seems kind of strange to me.

Might give it a try later.

>definition of action
I don't think this will ever be solved.

>has MGS
>has evil within
>has doom
>has urban reign
>has RE

Well this is interesting.

>chaos legion

Birdman is happy.

I wonder if all of those games (well, most of them) are the ones worth playing in the Action genre, or if there's some other games worth a mention that weren't included in that list (besides the Tales games).

Birdman wrote:>definition of action
I don't think this will ever be solved.

Agree 100%. It's such a vague term and invites an awful lot of questions. What does DOOM have to make it an "action game" that other FPS titles don't have? On what basis do most of the Resident Evil games qualify? What bout Killer7? I know it's named "general action games" but there's so many different approaches to combat design across that list that would make for a lot of unfair comparisons.

To be honest, I'm not really sure I can offer a solution. I think it's problematic to label games as action and be done with it, but then you could argue it gets even worse when you have to start debating what sub-genre games fit into.

After careful deliberation, my list is finally complete. I'd say it's pretty fair.

Looks about right. Ha.

Mmhm. Some surprising placements here and there, but like Infinity said, it looks right.

Heh heh.

Definitely the best and most understandable tier-list that I've seen.

Yep. Unsurprising, and very understandable.

You know me.

Fair, unbiased, factual.

I do have another in the works but I don't see how the older RE games fit in. At this point it's becoming a favorite game tier list.

Quick question: Can someone please explain what is hitstun and/or damage decay? I think it's related to fighting games, I think.

I've seen some different definitions floating around and yeah they are usually terms used with fighting games but can apply to any game with combat.

Hit stun, to me, is the stun you take from getting hit that stops you from moving. The getting hit animations. Also applies to enemies you hit.

Damage decay would be doing less damage the more hits you do in a combo. The DBZ Budokai games were like this. Some characters had infinites but they eventually stopped doing damage.

Basically what Birdman said. Hitstun is how long you stagger from being hit. Damage Decay is that your damage output gets lower the longer your combo lasts, very prevelant in games like Marvel vs Capcom etc.

Note that you also have Damage Staling, meaning that the damage of a certain move gets less and less the more you use it in succession. Yakuza features this heavily with its Heat Moves. Smash Brothers also does it. A move gets 'stale' in a sense.

Thanks for the answers. Now that I think about it, I do remember playing one game that had Damage Decay.

Never heard or seen anything about Damage Staling until now, however. Would you believe me if I said that I never played a single Smash Bros. game in my life?

A lot of games do it, but very, very sneakily. Some games do the inverse, i.e. making enemies have more health based on certain performances like in RE4. Play good enough and enemies get more HP.

And man, honestly, it is a fun series. But personally, and this is a real hot take, the competitive scene is something you should want to avoid. Once you get into competative Smash it is hard to play the game normal again (with items), while in fact that's the most fun way to play.

Has Weapon Durability ever been discussed? I've been thinking about that and Level Design.

Is block-stun worth mentioning? You see this in action games too.

I don't think we've ever discussed weapon durability, so take it away @Nadster! Personally I don't think I've ever liked it as a mechanic outside of simulation style games. Like where you can become a blacksmith to maintain your gear, give it personality etc. Most of the times it ends up just being a time+resource hog. World of Warcraft infamously useses it to cull the world economy somewhat.

And yeah block-stun is worth mentioning too, though you rarely see it get mentioned these days since most enemies in games don't block for shit anymore.

>Smash Bros.

Noted. But I'm not sure if 4 is a good starting point, since that's basically the only game in the series I have access to right now.

I just thought of something. Of all the Action games you guys have played, which one does one major element better? For example (including, but not limited to), boss design, weapon variety, level design, etc.

I got the inspiration for this question based on a small conversation I had with SBK. He said that KH2FM's Summons were amazing, but Astral Chain did them better.

>block stun on enemies
And when you do they often just repel you. I can't seem to think of any right now where you can do block stun setups but I'm sure there are some.

You're more likely to be the victim of it. Take Onimusha where you can get stuck in heavy block stun and be vulnerable to follow ups and other enemies.

Hmm, that’s a really tough question. I feel that most of the best games in the genre do many things really well. I guess if I had to pick the best examples of certain things to me  they would be:

Main Weapon design: NG2 and The evil within
Enemy design: ...probably the same answer
Bosses: Vanquish
Level design: Souls
Grabs/grapples: God of war 2
Simplicity: Shinobi
Overall creativity: God Hand and Wonderful 101
Difficulty progression: NGB
Meter usage: ZoE2
Replayability: RE4
Melee movelist: NG2 and God Hand
Best at being ignored: ZoE2(ha)

I don’t know, super rough list. Take it with a grain of salt.

Man, the more I hear about The Evil Within's highlights, the more excited I am to play it. I'm conflicted because I want to see some gameplay videos, but at the same time I want to have a 100% fresh experience when I finally get around to play it (the same thing goes for most games on my list).

>best at being ignored

I have to ask, why? I also hear good things about ZoE2, but yes, I've also seen people saying that this game gets overlooked by many people, despite... well, seeing mostly good things about it. I think the first time I heard of this game was in the KH3 board, and it's very rare to see it getting mentioned anywhere else (besides this forum, I mean).

RE4 is a must play before The Evil Within, IMO. That game is a love letter to fans of RE4 in every way.
If you haven't played 4 yet I can't recommend it enough.

Yeah as much as I adore TEW, definitely play RE4 first if you haven’t. A complete masterpiece. Depending on whether or not you really get into TEW you’ll appreciate its changes to the formula more too.

>ZoE2

Are you asking why it’s overlooked, or why I think it’s overlooked?

I don't know any real statistics, but its release was quiet in NZ. The first game was well known and all over the shelves. No idea what happened with the 2nd.

>RE4

I've played that game a lot. It might actually be on par with KH2FM in terms of how many times I played these games. But if you ask me which game I played the most from beginning to end, the answer is RE4, since I only played 2FM to fight the post-game bosses (not to mention that the game was in Japanese and having to look up guides and such to find out what ability I got was quite annoying and I didn't want to get through that again).

Of course, all of that happened before I was interested in Action games and mechanics. So I might give it a try again for old time's sake and to see how it holds up to me now.

>ZoE2

The former.

In that case, I still think it would be good to play it again and see how it works as an action game, amazing weapons and enemies. Probably the best pacing in a game ever too imo.

As for ZoE2, I dunno. Action game fans see Kojima’s name attached so they may assume it doesn’t have deep mechanics(which obviously makes no sense to anyone who’s played metal gear). It also is just a strange game; it’s not really a “hack and slash”, not a traditional mech game, part shmup, two entire face buttons are dedicated to movement, etc. The PS3 port being bad certainly didn’t help. It’s also sort of the like Vanquish where the game is highly stylized, but the gameplay isn’t “stylish” in terms of combos or whatever, the game is just blisteringly fast efficiency. It’s also probably the shortest game I’ve played in the genre.

That was an incoherent ramble and I don’t know if it answers your question, so take it as you will haha.

That made sense actually, but I used to play it a lot. Not sure how it sounds to someone who hasn't touched it.