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Groups > comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action > #45986
| From | ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) |
|---|---|
| Subject | Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 |
| Newsgroups | comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action |
| References | <k8im5j55mupeastdmcs6tlu6gpoofok5rm@4ax.com> <lmudnVmW_4cRisH7nZ2dnZfqn_EAAAAA@earthlink.com> |
| Message-ID | <lmudnViW_4d1isH7nZ2dnZfqn_GdnZ2d@earthlink.com> (permalink) |
| Date | 2024-06-02 06:57 +0000 |
Oh, I played with a few old Atari 2600 games (e.g., Adventure and
Asteroids) in my iPhone 12 mini with https://www.retroarch.com.
Ant <ant@zimage.comant> wrote:
> Still Duo Lingo and Diablo 4 when I can.
> Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
> > The months are just flying by, aren't they? How's a person supposed to
> > get any gaming done with the days whipping by like this? Well, I got a
> > little bit of gaming done... but not as much as I'd like. How am I
> > ever going to work through the backlog at this rate?
> > Anyway, here's what I played:
> > The List You Need
> > ---------------------------------------
> > * Dead Space Remaster
> > * American Truck Simulator - Nebraska DLC
> > * Tomb Raider: Shadow of the Tomb Raider
> > The List You Deserve
> > ---------------------------------------
> > * Dead Space Remaster
> > Mathematically, I enjoyed 58% of the "Dead Space Remaster". That's
> > because I enjoyed the parts of the game that were "Dead Space" but I
> > was not so sanguine about the "Remaster" aspects.
> > Not that there's anything straight-out /terrible/ about the remaster.
> > I just don't think it really adds anything necessary to the original
> > game, and in some respects actually detracts from it. The best thing I
> > can say about this new version is that it is easier to run on modern
> > hardware; no need to fiddle with config files or compatibility
> > settings. The slightly improved controls and native wide-screen
> > support are nice too.
> > But I'm less enthralled by the visual and audio updates. There was a
> > certain chunkiness to the original's graphics that really enhanced the
> > down-and-dirty feel of being on a gore-splattered mining spaceship.
> > The new visuals are just too sharp, the lighting effects just too
> > glossy to maintain that atmosphere. There are more obvious changes too
> > (including an entirely new look for protagonist Isaac Clark; this
> > newest iteration looks particularly gormless, as opposed to his more
> > practical appearance in the original version). There are numerous
> > audio tweaks too; most aren't too noteworthy, but the extra-loud
> > clunking of Isaac's space-boots hitting the decks with each step was a
> > constant annoyance.
> > They were some minor gameplay tweaks too; again, very little of note
> > was changed, except for the addition of some 'zero-G' acrobatics which
> > had Isaac flying around the place like Iron Man. Yes, this was a
> > feature added to the franchise in later games, but it feels
> > particularly out of place in this first game, which was all about a
> > constant claustrophobia.
> > The remaster is also far less subtle with its revelations about the
> > nature of both the source of the monstrosities, and with the fate of
> > Isaac's girlfriend. I get it; by this point, Nicole's ultimate
> > disposition is probably as well-kept a secret as the Luke/Darth Vader
> > relationship, but there's no sense of mystery and revelation.
> > Still, the core gameplay and conceits remain strong; the remaster is
> > recognizably "Dead Space" and dismembering space-zombies is still as
> > much fun as ever. Neither newcomers to the franchise nor old hands
> > will actively dislike this version.
> > It's just that the original remains the superior experience.
> > * American Truck Simulator - Nebraska DLC
> > So. Nebraska. A state most famous for its corn. Yeah, we're doing
> > this. I did warn you all this was coming.
> > I realized what I was getting into early in my explorations. The Truck
> > Simulator games have these spots on the map called 'viewpoints' where
> > you have to take a screenshot of a specific location. These are
> > usually of famous - or at least notable - landmarks; the Golden Gate
> > Bridge in San Francisco, or Devil's Tower in Wyoming. The first one I
> > saw in Nebraska was highlighting a sport supply store sitting off a
> > highway. The others I found weren't much more interesting.
> > Yeah, it's that kind of state. The sort of place where a path that
> > people used to /leave/ for better places (the Oregon Trail) is one of
> > the state's premier historical attractions.
> > I can imagine there was a sort of desperation amongst the developers
> > of this expansion, trying to find something - anything! - interesting
> > to showcase (I wouldn't be surprised if the residents of the state
> > felt a similar anxiety). I got that impression from the fiddly roads,
> > the overly detailed storefronts, the excessive detail and hidden paths
> > that curved around the few geographical features worth looking at.
> > There's almost nothing to see in the state, but the developers did
> > everything they could to milk what few sights there were.
> > This isn't a problem unique to Nebraska; previous map expansions
> > suffered from similar limitations. But even if those other states
> > weren't topographically interesting, at least they were fun to drive
> > through. Not so Nebraska; its roads were too often narrow, twisty, and
> > slow. The Truck Simulator games are best when you've long highways to
> > drive down; when you can almost zone out and become one with the
> > traffic. Nebraska demanded too much attention to the road... and
> > offered too little reward for that effort. But like the old joke goes,
> > while the driving is terrible, there's very little of it too. Despite
> > being a fairly large state, the Nebraska expansion feels very light in
> > actual content, namely: roads and destinations. I make it a point to
> > traverse (or at least try to traverse) every bit of road in the game
> > with each expansion, and usually it takes a week or two for me to
> > complete this challenge. With "Nebraska", I finished it off in four
> > days.
> > So, yeah. I'm not really a fan of this expansion. I can't say to skip
> > it -after all, it's the American Truck Simulator, and you can't have
> > America without all its states- but Nebraska isn't one I care to visit
> > often. Not even to drive through. Sure it's got its corn. But it
> > doesn't have much else.
> > * Tomb Raider: Shadow of the Tomb Raider
> > I'm not sure I should even include this game on the list, I played so
> > little of it. But I just couldn't make myself want to stick with the
> > game very long.
> > Not that, mechanically, it's a bad game. I mean, no, it's not really
> > wowing me with its game-play, but it's competent enough. It's lack of
> > an interesting storyline (or characters) didn't help either. Lara
> > Croft and her constant daddy-issues are a well long since drained dry,
> > but the developers keep going back to that same uninteresting subplot
> > (the massive evil conspiracy that's the game's main antagonist isn't
> > much better either).
> > But, really, it was the open-world that kept me from playing. That,
> > and the constant crafting. I didn't want to have to engage with any of
> > that nonsense. I miss the days of solid games with well-made,
> > well-paced maps. Levels with a definite start and finish, and a clear
> > direction from the one to the other. Wandering around giant maps
> > clearing out dozens of subquests and finding useless gimcracks placed
> > there just to fill out the game don't excite me. I've better uses for
> > my time. It's not fun; it's grind.
> > So I played relatively little of the game. In terms of polish and
> > mechanics, it's probably the best of the rebooted series, but that
> > open world? No thank you. I've no desire to work my way through all
> > that nonsense.
> > ---------------------------------------
> > Well, that's my short list for my month. Did you do any better? Let's
> > find out.
> > What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024?
--
"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." --Galatians 6:2. Slammy Monday?
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/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
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What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> - 2024-06-01 13:04 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2024-06-01 10:27 -0700
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Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Rin Stowleigh <rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> - 2024-06-01 14:10 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> - 2024-06-01 14:21 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2024-06-01 12:14 -0700
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Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 JAB <noway@nochance.com> - 2024-06-07 09:24 +0100
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Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> - 2024-06-08 08:37 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> - 2024-06-08 14:30 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2024-06-08 09:29 -0700
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Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> - 2024-06-08 13:53 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> - 2024-06-08 19:35 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2024-06-08 20:36 -0700
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> - 2024-06-09 16:15 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> - 2024-06-09 07:54 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 "rms" <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> - 2024-06-01 12:23 -0600
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 JAB <noway@nochance.com> - 2024-06-07 09:29 +0100
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 "rms" <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> - 2024-06-12 20:25 -0600
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> - 2024-06-13 13:10 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 <smaug@ereborbbs.duckdns.org> - 2024-06-13 18:45 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> - 2024-06-14 10:52 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 <smaug@ereborbbs.duckdns.org> - 2024-06-14 17:36 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 JAB <noway@nochance.com> - 2024-06-15 08:00 +0100
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 JAB <noway@nochance.com> - 2024-06-15 07:59 +0100
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> - 2024-06-01 19:35 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) - 2024-06-02 06:56 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) - 2024-06-02 06:57 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> - 2024-06-02 07:46 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) - 2024-06-02 21:53 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com> - 2024-06-03 08:53 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) - 2024-06-03 21:01 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> - 2024-06-04 00:10 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) - 2024-06-04 01:47 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> - 2024-06-04 20:10 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Rin Stowleigh <rstowleigh@x-nospam-x.com> - 2024-06-03 19:08 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> - 2024-06-04 00:10 +0000
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> - 2024-06-03 17:12 -0700
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> - 2024-06-04 10:41 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> - 2024-06-12 14:13 +0300
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> - 2024-06-13 10:20 +0300
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> - 2024-06-04 12:15 +0300
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> - 2024-06-04 11:00 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Anssi Saari <anssi.saari@usenet.mail.kapsi.fi> - 2024-06-05 10:45 +0300
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> - 2024-06-05 10:13 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 JAB <noway@nochance.com> - 2024-06-07 09:36 +0100
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 JAB <noway@nochance.com> - 2024-06-07 09:20 +0100
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 "rms" <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> - 2024-06-07 10:58 -0600
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 JAB <noway@nochance.com> - 2024-06-08 10:31 +0100
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 H1M3M <wipnoah@gmail.com> - 2024-06-21 15:26 +0200
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> - 2024-06-21 09:46 -0400
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> - 2024-06-21 08:03 -0700
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> - 2024-06-21 11:52 -0700
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 H1MEM <wipnoah@gmail.com> - 2024-06-21 22:09 +0200
Re: What Have You Been Playing... IN MAY 2024 H1MEM <wipnoah@gmail.com> - 2024-06-21 22:15 +0200
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