Video Games

It is if you like tactical shooters, but Wildlands is still probably the better game in the series.

 

They're basically "digital" (I hate that term) game store/library manager apps for PC. They have a store you purchase from within the app, and then a library to manage/launch the game from, and some even have their own community and chat capability. It amounts to the same thing as a game console desktop/GUI, except on PC it's an app.

On console, it would be like having the main Playstation GUI/XMB with of course its own PS Store, but then say Ubisoft doesn't want to play nice and makes a game that isn't available at the PS Store. So you would have to download the Ubisoft app, create a Ubisoft account, and buy the game from the Ubisoft app. Then to play the game, you have to start the Ubisoft app (aka launcher), then also start/launch the game from the Ubisoft app.

The problem is, we don't need 10 of them on PC.

 

Loved wildlands...

 

Same. I played it so much on PS4 that one day the Platinum popped, but I wasn't even trying to get it lol.

So yeah, I think you'd like Breakpoint then, but I wouldn't pay full price for it since it's been out a few years.

 

Thanks. Being a console player that term doesn’t get used. But your description makes perfect sense.

 

Yeah the licensing requirements are different obviously on console, and manufacturers don't really have the option to decide to go about it their way. So console gamers don't really need to worry about it (which is a good thing).

But everything changes on PC/Windows being more of an open platform since it isn't specifically a gaming system. Even if Steam is more or less the de-facto game launcher/management app, game manufacturers still have to pay costs for their games to be on Steam. But whether or not the costs are too high vs how much the manufacturers want to simply control/protect their revenue stream, whatever the reason, Steam is still the best launcher out there, and is worthy of being its own platform because it really is one (which I think is how it's referred to these days). Whereas these other launchers aren't even worthy of being called copycats by comparison.

 

Finally started into Ragnarok. I'm about 3 hours in, and you guys are right, the graphics are noticeably better. Lot more depth and detail. My only complaint though is the audio. I have an 11 channel home theater, and with two 15" subs active it doesn't have the same impact as its predecessor. I even turned on my third 15" sub for situations like this (roughly 1800W RMS), and still not quite there. I've had to tweak my system settings to compensate.

Anyway, a minor gripe for audio dorks like me as I'm still enjoying the game regardless! Glad I jumped in right away vs going after the Valkyries, armor, etc., in GOW.

 

I also hate it when there's something you've been meaning to try, you wait for the update, and because you went off to do something else in the interim you completely forgot why you fired up the f'ing system in the first place.

 

Need one that shows the entire family needing your attention every fifteen minutes or someone deciding to vacuum the room while you get your game time.

 

And then you keep getting your butt kicked because you also forgot the controller scheme.

 

Yup. Many games I've put 20 hours into, but it's just the first hour 20 times, because i restart.

 

These days I mostly like games I can just pick up and play with my friends for a couple hours then walk away from. E.g. the first Battlefield 2.

 

Same types here, but I enjoy a good story once in a smile. Just started GoW and I'm enjoying it so far. Maybe Ragnarok will be on sale by the time I finish.

 

War Thunder anyone? My nephews got me into it last year. PC, XBox, and PlayStation can all play it.

 

Finished up this little budget build table top unit, I wanted to keep the Pandora Box contained and easily removed for quick reconnect to the big tv.

 

I've dabbled a little.

 

So I'm still playing God of War: Ragnarok. I'm about 2/3 of the way through I think. Is it just me, or did anyone else sick of Atreus lol?

 

Shhhh! I'm still not done with the first one. No spoilers!

 

Depends. I found Atreus more annoying than I did Kratos, but by the same token Kratos is sort of a helicopter dad. LOL

 

I restarted Horizon Forbidden West. Kept getting my @$$ waxed by every big animal that came along...until I found out that my son as a joke set the difficulty to 'Brutal.' He said "I thought I was going to make fun of you a lot...but then you got a heck of a lot father than I thought you would."

He forgets I remember when *PONG* came out. LOL

Anyways, restarted and set it to Creampuff mode (or whatever it's called) so I can waltz through. LOL

 

Noted. I'm usually pretty good about that kind of thing, but I didn't think this was that big a deal. Spoiler tags going forward just in case!

I think that's why I have a problem with

Spoiler

Atreus. I have 2 boys, one just finished college and started his career, the other is a college sophomore. They are 2 sides of the same coin. But I've hovered only enough to encourage - and participate - in the activities/hobbies/whatever they were into, and not once have I ridiculed them. Sure, I continue to give them guidance, and growing up gave them a foundation and helped train/coach them in sports, musical instruments, and got them into art, reading, taught them to fish, camp, etc., basically appreciate life and the outdoors. But they eventually wanted to do their own thing as they got older, and I feel I gave them the foundation for it. My only rule was that they do something. We have a healthy relationship, even if we don't always see eye to eye. We talk it through, no yelling.

Essentially, I think the relationship Kratos has with Atreus is representative of common parenting, and that's probably why I can't relate to any of it because of the above. My boys just don't talk back to me. They're respectful, and I treat them with respect.

So really, I'm just here to kick ass and chew bubblegum... and I'm all out of gum.

 

That was preemptive, and I also avoid this thread when I'm starting an old game and don't want spoilers. The game has been out for years, so it's kinda on me to avoid spoilers. I was just poking fun, but I appreciate the courtesy!

 

That is brutal... and hilarious at the same time. That's the kind of thing if my kids pulled on me, I'd be like, "yeah you got me, good one!" Everyone was a joke target growing up in my family, so I'd appreciate that kind of thing. But glad you figured it out. Me, I probably would be calling the TV manufacturer trying to explain to them that the game controller that somehow got lodged into the TV screen should be covered under warranty.

The Horizon games are among my favorite, and FW blew me away on the PS5. I love exploring in games and played the first one so much that without trying I think I was like 5 or 6 trophies from getting the platinum so I got it done. But I still have to do a 2nd play-through of FW. I played through 90% of it on the PS4 Pro before I finally got a PS5, which also happened to be the FW bundle. I'm really looking forward to appreciating the graphics and better overall performance from start to finish.

 

I removed the spoiler to respond. LOL

I'm probably halfway in-between, but then again, my son has ADHD. I'll admit I started out wrong (e.g., I'd ask him "Why do you keep doing this over and over when you know what the end result will be?" - when *I* know that it's not him being combative). As it is now, I realize that while it's mildly infuriating, it's not intentional - he's just behind in developing what they call 'executive function' - the part of your brain that ties sh*t you do (or don't do) now to longer-term consequences.

So to a certain extent, I wouldn't say I 'have to be' a helicopter dad, but unless I just want to let him fail and deal with a sh*tload of consequences, I have to realize that his executive function and reasoning skills are 2-3 years behind and teach him how to develop those.

 

That's a different case altogether, and I wouldn't judge a parent on how they handle that. I know that I could be impatient and I have no idea how I would react because that's a life-long thing to have to deal with. But it's great that you recognize that. My brother went through something similar with his oldest daughter who has a mild case of ADD, and it took him a long time before he realized how his actions and reactions toward her were negatively impacting her and their relationship, and though he eventually sought a better approach to working with her, it was almost too late. Fortunately she inherited/learned to be head-strong like him, which helped her to mature and develop positively.

 

That's awesome. Ultimately, I'm not worried about him making it in life. A few years back he did something that made me so proud I could pop.

He was @ summer school (unlike in the north, where that means "You sucked at school", here in the south it means "Yay! Free daycare!" lol) and when he came home he told me about a special needs kid there who was playing and being picked on, and my son said "....so I went to play with him." Starting that sentence fragment with "...so" implies cause and effect, so I said "Tell me why you went to play with him."

He said "Well, they were picking on him. When I started to play with him, they started to pick on ME, and stopped picking on him."

The entire reason my son went to play with the special needs child was to shield him from getting picked on. I was never more proud of him than I was at that moment and I told him so. Of course he was like "....cool. Can I play some video games!" but later on he'll realize what an asset that viewpoint/tendency is.

 

This is so true.