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Groups > comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg > #6476
| From | ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) |
|---|---|
| Newsgroups | comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg |
| Subject | Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN DECEMBER 2025? |
| Date | 2026-01-03 01:47 +0000 |
| Organization | A noiseless patient Spider |
| Message-ID | <10j9sfj$tshv$1@dont-email.me> (permalink) |
| References | <jg9dlk1auflg8b9a7gthoajhhs19t5gru4@4ax.com> |
Uh, wrong newsgroup? Or forgot to CC? :P
Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> Well, we've seen the backside of 2025, and are into a fresh new year.
> There's only one thing left to do now, and that's our usual months-end
> round-up of games we've played. You all know the drill, so let's hop
> right to it.
> Hop!
> Superbrief
> ---------------------------------------
> * Quake II Enhanced
> * American Truck Simulator: Louisiana DLC
> * Cyberpunk 2077
> Maximum Verbosity
> ---------------------------------------
> * Quake II Enhanced
> https://www.gog.com/en/game/quake_ii_quad_damage
> I only gave this game the briefest of replays. Mainly, I played the
> bonus 'Call of the Machine' add-on that came with the game (it's one
> of the things that make the game 'enhanced' over the original), and
> that only because it reportedly connected the story-lines of the
> original "Quake" and its sequel.
> Which it does... but not in any truly satisfying way. The level pack
> itself isn't too bad; its conceit is that you are sending soldiers
> down (via drop-pod) to collect 'data CDs' from enemy strongholds. Each
> module starts you off as a new soldier with no weapons or equipment,
> and lasts three or four levels (depending on whether or not there is a
> secret level). The maps themselves are noticeably more complex than
> the original levels; larger in size, with more complicated geometry
> and more 'tricks' that make the world feel slightly more alive than
> the 1997's levels. They also utilize the full range of weapons and
> enemies from the original game and its two expansion packs, and aren't
> afraid to throw twenty+ enemies at you at once. It's amazing what the
> Quake engine can do when you know the players aren't limited to 128MB
> RAM.
> So the levels themselves are fairly fun to play; there's some good
> variety and design, and they don't feel unnecessarily punishing. It's
> a bit repetitive, having to restart from scratch for each module and
> build up your armory each time, but it does keep everything more
> balanced. It's just a shame the narrative that connects the game to
> the first Quake --the whole reason I played it-- is so weak.
> Essentially you fight through the whole quest only to face off against
> <ROT13>n pbhcyr bs funzoyref</ROT13> with little context except that
> they are 'the creators of the Strogg'. I mean, I know this _is_ Quake,
> so story is always secondary, but a /little/ more detail would have
> been nice. But no, you encounter your foe, kill it, and get a 'thanks
> for playing' end-screen.
> Still, it's "Quake II" and that's always been my favorite of the
> franchise, so I'm not too disappointed with my brief layover. If you
> already own the game, the 'Call of the Machine' level pack isn't
> reason enough to re-purchase the game in its 'Enhanced' format, but if
> you are in the mood for some "Quake II" blood-letting, the bonus
> expansion is a nice addition and you should give it a try.
> Even if it disappoints in its raison d'être.
> * American Truck Simulator: Louisiana DLC
> https://store.steampowered.com/app/3012580/American_Truck_Simulator__Louisiana/
> Yeah, yeah. It's not my fault the developers keep releasing new
> expansions. What, like I have a choice about /not/ buying/playing
> them? Still, even I have to admit that these constant reviews of what
> is -essentially- the same game is tiring. You don't like reading them
> and, to be honest, I'm not much a fan of writing them. There's just
> nothing new to say! So I'll try to keep it short... or at least as
> short as I can (so, you know, only four paragraphs. That's as close to
> 'short' as I can do ;-).
> Anyway...the Louisiana DLC. It's fine. No, scratch that. It's
> /good/... but not in any way that stands out from the other well-made
> map expansions released by SCS Software. It's not a disappointing
> release, that's for sure. But neither does it really excite.
> Oh, there are some nice things. The vegetation has been greatly
> improved; obviously SCS untied the purse-strings just enough to
> finally buy a bunch of new tree and plant assets, and it shows. As
> importantly, the density of the trees and bushes has been improved;
> everything looks quite lush and jungley. The Louisiana map feels quite
> distinct from the other states. It was sometimes hard to tell when you
> crossed over from, say, Nebraska into Kansas or from Utah into
> Arizona.
> Louisiana, though, is different. It's got all the swamps and bayous,
> for one thing; this is one wet state! But the roads are darker (fewer
> overhead road lights), and the buildings are smaller and with their
> own character. You definitely get the impression that this is one of
> the poorer states in America.
> Beyond that, there's not much to say. Parts of the map do suffer a bit
> much from 'flat-itis' (where the world appears unnaturally flat in
> order to fit the prefab buildings), and this is one of the smaller
> releases; the road network is quite dense, but there's just less
> driving to do overall. But overall, I am satisfied. It may not be my
> favorite expansion, but it's good and --unlike some other states-- it
> feels more like a destination than just something to drive through to
> get to more interesting regions.
> * Cyberpunk 2077
> https://www.gog.com/en/game/cyberpunk_2077
> This is such a big game.
> Which is both "Cyberpunk's" blessing and its curse. It's amazingly
> detailed and beautiful (in a dystopian way) world that even after
> driving down the same road a thousand times, I still feel that I'll
> suddenly run across something new. But at the same time, the world
> itself is also quite shallow; scratch the surface and you won't find
> much beneath the facade. NPCs have nothing to say; the buildings are
> all empty, and the vast bulk of the side-quests are nothing more than
> "go there and shoot somebody" affairs. The game reminds me nothing so
> much as "Mafia II", which also had a wonderfully detailed open-world
> but used it incredibly poorly. With "Mafia II", I decided the game
> would have been better as a bunch of stand-alone levels that /looked/
> like they were in a connected world. I'm not so sure that "Cyberpunk
> 2077" would be improved that way... but neither am I entirely willing
> to discount it.
> Which isn't to say I find nothing worthy in the game; far from it. The
> main quest is engaging, and --while you're railroaded through the main
> plot-- the game does give you a good degree of freedom in how you
> react to the story. The mechanics --the driving, the shooting, the
> sneaking-- are good enough; they never were the driving force that
> kept me going, but they never bothered me. It just didn't excite me
> either. It didn't help that the game leaned so heavily into
> gun-combat, meaning that both stealth and hacking got short shrift
> (seriously, there are like 500 guns in this game and only 20 hacking
> powers).
> I have to admit; I'm not really that big a fan of the cyberpunk genre
> either. Especially nowadays, the grim dystopian future it postulates
> is looking all too likely. Although I do get a chuckle walking down
> the city-streets in the game; everything else might go to hell, but at
> least there are sidewalks everywhere. That's a huge improvement over
> most US cities (it's so obvious this game was designed by Europeans.
> Even the public transit in that dystopia is better than most current
> US cities ;-)!
> I'm for the first time playing with the 2.0 patch and Phantom Liberty
> DLC. The former supposedly revamped the combat, but I'm not really
> seeing that much of a change (then again, the combat in the un-patched
> game didn't leave much of an impression on me). I guess maybe it's a
> little more difficult? Stealth seems to be less useful now? It's hard
> to tell. The DLC (at least as much as I've played so far) hasn't
> impressed me; the first bit seems an uninteresting and extremely
> linear dungeon crawl, and none of the characters introduced have any
> of the depth or nuance seen in the main game. But maybe that will
> change as I progress through the story.
> One thing I actively dislike in this game is a lack of a third-person
> viewpoint. It seems such an odd lack, given how much effort has been
> put into the character design and the innumerable fashion choices. Why
> allow players to put all that effort into creating their character and
> then hiding it so you can only see it in the inventory screen? I'm
> sure there's a mod for this but it irks me that I'd have to resort to
> something that should be built into the game.
> Otherwise... "Cyberpunk 2077" is fine. It's no "Witcher 3" but it's
> got some fancy graphics and I get to go all cyber-ninja on robots. I
> don't need much more than that to have fun.
> ---------------------------------------
> Only three games this month, but two of them were fairly long affairs
> so I'm satisfied. How about you? Did you get enough gaming in between
> all the holiday celebration and parties? Basically, what I am asking
> is:
> What Have You Been Playing... IN DECEMBER 2025?
>
--
"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." --Psalms 90:12. Slammy 1st Fri. of 26.
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