Topics

106

Modern Video Games / What would your game be?

« on: May 26, 2017, 05:43:31 am »

I believe me or someone else might've done this awhile back, but I find it fun to think up games I'd really like to see that haven't been done yet and could make for a fun time.

I got the idea this time watching some slick promo for a likely lame mobile game, but it got me thinking about a zombie game, but with a military force.  Not side games with wave based zombies, or solo survival ventures, but like Battlefield World War Z.  Large scale maps, destructible terrain, hefty weaponry, multiple zombie types and massive amounts of zombies, it's something I'm surprised was never done when zombies had way more hype going on.  Everyone was trying to just latch onto like DayZ, or Call of Duty Zombies, but nothing else outside of the Walking Dead story games, Dead Island/Dying Light, or Left 4 Dead and State of Decay.  People complained about the amount of zombie games at a point, but like there aren't a ton of a really good zombie games.

For this, like I said, bigger, more open maps.  Modern military weaponry, though limited to some degree, as it could be set abit deeper into the infection cycle, so tanks and heavy vehicles are used sparingly, minimal air support, local communication only.  Not only would there be zombies and mutated types, but it would also have roaming gangs trying to get military hardware for themselves or going as far as foreign invasion utilizing the infection as a way to take over, so Red Dawn meets World War Z meets Battlefield lol I think there's a fun game in this with a good story to.

107

Modern Video Games / Resident Evil 7 SPOILER Thread

« on: January 26, 2017, 02:17:45 am »

Yup, spoilers from here on in. 

Not sure if anyone else beat the game yet, but I've beaten it twice now, once with a normal playthrough, and the second started out with me going to do all the coins and bobble heads, but changed my mind and did the under 4 hour run of the game.  I managed to do it in 3 and 1/2 hours and it wasn't even an ideal run.  I was also able to use the Albert during this run which is a great gun combined with enhanced bullets, even if it's only a 3 shot gun, it makes up for it in power.  I imagine speed runners are getting this game down to like nearly 2 hours.

While I feel like this is a top notch game, really fantastic, I do have a few nitpicks I'm unsure about, so I'll talk about those. 

As much as I like the video tapes, I think they are really stretching how believable they are, running around with a giant VHS recorder.   Clancy and Mia's first tapes are fine enough, they are clearly holding cameras, though they screw up by showing Eveline in Mia's tape, which makes no sense as Eveline is a hallucination whenever she is seen in the game other than Mia's second tape.  The second time though, clearly they aren't holding cameras.  Sure, it's a game, but they are trying to make things relatively believable and when I realized it, it kinda bugged me.  There could possibly be an excuse that Mia's time in the past could not actually be a tape, but Eveline just giving her memories back, but still relies on a tape with information related to her.

I actually had an issue with Lucas being unresolved, but stupidly I only really now realized that the bit where Umbrella and Chris would be explained in that free chapter coming, that Lucas and Zoe could be resolved in that chapter also.  I was initially annoyed that it would be a cliffhanger or possible paid DLC conclusion, but clearly we'll deal with them there.  My guess is that this chapter was initially meant to be something unlocked after you beat the game, but due to deadlines, they needed more time, so cut it, that way they could get another month or so of development to finish up.  I'm alright, cause it's clearly extra and it doesn't hurt the main game at all, unlike Final Fantasy XV.

My other issue is the ending.  That boss fight is real weak.  Cool looking, but it is very lackluster compared to the other boss fights we had.  It's very modern RE, but I feel like they could've done something more engaging.  The boss has a lot of scripted elements and it takes abit to learn them since only certain parts matter if you shoot and others don't.  Made for a couple real dumb deaths.

One other minor thing would be that enemy variety is minimal.  I'm glad it wasn't just zombies, but 4 types of mold guys and the Bakers is very low in variety, especially when the last third of the game introduces nothing new.  I mean why didn't we get like a moldgator? That would've been awesome.  It's not a bad thing, because this game is meant to be kind of a scaled down reset for the series, but it would've been nice to have more molded variety.  I feel like it's open for more possibilities.

Otherwise, I really love the game.  Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of creepy horror games, like I love zombie games and things with good atmosphere like Metro 2033, but I don't play hardly any horror games and I'm glad I played this though.  It's creepy, it's scary, it's regularly unsettling.  Can't say that about any other RE game.

Next I plan to playthrough to collect everything.  I highly recommend you to do it on your third try.  First beat the game on normal, then do the under 4 hour run.  Doing that, it gets you a defense item and you get both a new and stronger melee weapon, but X-Ray Glasses, which is a permanent psychostimulant.  Then if you want to have a real tough time, do Madhouse.  I might try it, but I'm not one for crazy hard difficulties, though from what I understand, the difficulty comes from rearranged items, lower ammo, and that now you have to use tapes to save, like with the old games.

*EDIT*
Figured I'd start into my Madhouse run.  Normally I hate frustrating difficulties, but I figure with the circular saw, albert pistol, and two defense items, I might be able to get through.  Took me an hour and 15 minutes to get to the item box.  Died nearly 10 times trying to get past the Mia chainsaw fight.  It's a much more terrifying fight, where she takes much more hits, you will run out of ammo unless you have 100% headshot accuracy, and she only has to hit you like twice, even guarding, to kill you.  I can only imagine how a few of the fights are going to go.

Also got the X-Ray Specs, so I'm gonna use those to try and 100% the game for collectibles.  There's way more coins to find in the game on Madhouse difficulty.

108

General / The Resident Evil Thread

« on: January 22, 2017, 06:54:25 am »

*EDIT* Please no RE7 spoilers in this thread.  Once you play or beat it, you can talk about whether you liked it or not but keep all the story and character stuff out as much as possible.  I might open up an RE7 Spoiler thread once I beat the game depending on how I like it.

With RE7 out soon, I figured we'd do another one of these threads, talk about the games we liked, the ones we didn't, and what we might enjoy about RE7.

I'm in the minority of a lot of RE fans, in that I don't like any of the games before RE4.  Original and Remastered.  While I've dabbled in nearly every one of those early games, I hate how they play so much.  I even tried to get into the recent remaster bundle they put out on PS4 and I can't stand the controls.  They are just not fun to play for me.  Never have, never will.  A shame, because I love the ideas of the games.  It's big dumb b-movie nonsense, but it's entertaining.

Resident Evil 4 - Absolute favorite of the series, no contest.  I've played it at least a half dozen times between GC and PS2 and will probably replay it again once the guy making the HD texture pack is done on PC.  It's probably an all time top 10 game for me.  I wish it played slightly more like a regular third person game with proper movement and aiming, but that's just my very personal preference for having the best controls possible for myself lol

Resident Evil 5 - I've appreciated this game more as the years have gone on.  I haven't beaten it more than maybe two times, and while compared to RE4, it's not as good, it's still a good game.  It's just the start of the downfall for the series, introducing my most hated mechanic of forced co-op (Which was kinda busted on singleplayer for awhile) and was really doing more action segments.

Operation Raccoon City - I don't hate this idea.  I'm fine if they want to do an offshoot action game.  The problem is, this is a mostly bad third person shooter.  I never played the multiplayer, but I liked the idea of having kinda some unique characters with different gear types and such, running around in a non-canon RE setting.  It just was not good though.  I was actually kinda disappointed lol

Resident Evil: Revelations - I didn't play this on the 3DS, but I did play it on PC and just this past week actually beat it, because I never did before.  It's...not terrible.  It's a very shallow RE experience, essentially Resident Evil 6 Lite, introducing multiple sets of character with intertwining plots, but it doesn't work.  It's honestly kind of boring, though I like a few of the creature designs and the final boss is basically just Legend of Zelda Ganon.  Kinda dug that.  Though the co-op/partner element thankfully isn't obtrusive and annoying like RE5 or RE6.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - I actually don't have the best memory for this game, but it's not bad at all, I remember liking it.  Especially after Resident Evil 6.  I still am not fond of co-op in these games, but again, didn't hate it at all.  I think this is the only genuinely good RE game after 5 so far.  I'll replay it maybe after RE7.

Resident Evil 6 - Man this game is dumb and misses the point of RE by a mile.  3 co-op campaigns, 7 total playable characters, stretched across something like 30 hours of story, with just the dumbest action movie bullshit going on.  I watched someone replay Leon's campaign.  He comes out unscathed from a car crash, a bus crash, escapes a nuke, walks away from an airline crashing into a city, survives a crashing train, outruns a carpet bombing, survives a helicopter crash, and for good measure, one more jeep crash.  This just isn't Resident Evil lol I know Resident Evil is dumb, but this hit a new level alongside it's super awful story.

Umbrella Corps - ...moving along...

Resident Evil 7 - Now I've played the demo and while I hate the obscure PT level puzzle shit, it gave me a good feeling for the game.  I'm way into FPS gaming, it's a return to a smaller scale and definitely survival horror.  Initially I was worried, cause it's obvious they are adopting the ideas of the current modern horror scene, particularly Amnesia, Outlast, and PT for good measure.  I hate those games though, because they aren't fun to play, it's just running and hiding.  This though has actual combat in it.  You get guns and melee weapons, so that's a huge plus.  I'm really hoping for the best out of this as I'm not someone that regularly plays a lot of horror games, especially creepy ones.  I play tons of zombie games, but most aren't scary or very creepy.

109

Marketplace / For Sale: Fallout 4 Pipboy Collectors Edition/Fallout Anthology for PC

« on: January 15, 2017, 02:57:47 pm »

Selling my Fallout 4 Pipboy Collector's Edition for PC.  It doesn't come with the game, so this is just for the physical stuff, which includes the Pipboy, stand, case, steelbook case and disc, and paperwork.  To double confirm, the game code does not work.

Also selling Fallout Anthology for PC.  This one is complete, all codes for the games are unused, and is in good condition other than some slight skuffs on the outer plastic.

Thinking 80 for them both and would include shipping.  Both are kinda big, but not heavy, so it might not be too much to ship I hope.  Paypal only.

*EDIT* STILL AVAILABLE.  If you are wanting it and are from Canada, you can still buy it, but it's gonna be 120 bucks total due to the shipping costs as I found out working it out for someone else.

110

Marketplace / SOLD

« on: January 15, 2017, 02:41:57 pm »

Selling a Black New Nintendo 3DS XL that's in pretty good condition since I rarely played it outside of a few Zelda games and used it mostly at home.  Comes with the box and all the original packaging.  It has a 32gb sd card already installed and has the original 4gb sd card too.  There is a copy of Super Mario 3D Land, but it's just the game and cover in a generic 3DS case, so not technically complete.  And it comes with a Nintendo power adapter.

Asking 200 bucks for it all, which includes shipping, Paypal only.

111

Modern Video Games / The Nintendo Switch Discussion

« on: January 14, 2017, 12:28:52 am »

I figured with the other one being outdated and having stuff spanning from last year till now, that I'll make a brand new thread with everything we know at the moment, and that way we can have a fresh thread with as much information that people can use without needing to dig around.

Nintendo Switch System
-Nintendo Switch Release Date: March 3rd, 2017
-Nintendo Switch Price: $299.99 (NA)
-Most games will be region free
-Paid online service free till this fall, no price point currently.  Introducing a lot of smart phone app use, voice communication, lobby creating, friend lists, etc.
-Battery life is between 2.5 and 6.5 hours depending on game use.
-Share button only does screenshots at launch, but will allow for video later.
-32gb built in storage, supports microsdhxc cards.
-Two bundles at launch, only difference is one has grey joycon controllers, the other has "neon" (Red and Blue).  Comes with Switch tablet, two detachable joycon controllers, Switch dock, joycon controller charge unit, two wrist strap connectors for detached joycons, USBC power adapter, and HDMI cord.

Nintendo Switch Games
AT LAUNCH
-Just Dance 2017
-Super Bomberman R
-1, 2, Switch
-The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U version confirmed for March 3rd release)
-Skylanders Imaginators
-Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+
-World of Goo
-Little Infernal
-Human Resource Machine

MARCH
-Snipperclips
-Fast RMX
-I am Setsuna
-Has-Been Heroes

APRIL 28TH
-Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

SPRING 2017
-Arms
-Puyopyuo Tetris
-Redout

SUMMER 2017
-Rime
-Splatoon 2

FALL 2017
-Skyrim
-Fire Emblem Warriors

HOLIDAY 2017
-Super Mario Odyssey

2017 IN GENERAL
-Xenoblade Chronicles 2
-Minecraft
-Ultra Street Fighter 2: The Final Challengers
-FIFA
-Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
-Disgaea 5
-Sonic Mania
-Steep
-NBA 2k
-Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove
-Project Sonic 2017

OTHER CONFIRMED GAMES
-Fire Emblem
-Shin Megami Tensei
-Dragon Quest X, XI, Dragon Quest Heroes 1&2
-Project: Octopath Traveler (Square Enix RPG)
-No More Heroes
-Rayman Legends Definitive Edition
-Yooka-Laylee
-Blazblue
-Farming Simulator
-Lego City Undercover
-Minecraft: Story Mode
-Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
-New Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers
-Stardew Valley
-Story of Seasons
-Syberia 3
-State of Mind

Other Announcements
-2 New Breath of the Wild Amiibo's, bringing the total up to 5 with the three previously released ones.  Apparently Wolf Link amiibo is getting a separate release from its Twilight Princess bundle.
-Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is getting two special editions.  A special edition with a map, CD, Switch carry case, and button.  The Master Edition, which is already sold out basically everywhere, comes with a Master Sword statute as seen in the recent trailer, all scuffed and old.
-January 18th there will be a Fire Emblem direct.
-Ultra Street Fighter 2 is bringing in two more characters, Evil Ryu & Violent Ken, some alternate modes, and will allow you to switch from old school graphics or HD graphics.  It will have local and network play.

If I got anything wrong or missed anything, feel free to add it, I'll try and keep this updated till launch as we start to get stuff confirmed and more revealed as its guaranteed not to stop with less than 2 months to go.

112

Off Topic / 2017 In Movies

« on: January 06, 2017, 05:19:01 pm »

What you looking forward to watching this year?

-John Wick: Chapter 2
-The Lego Batman Movie
-Logan
-Kong: Skull Island
-Ghost in the Shell
-Guardians of the Galaxy 2
-Alien Covenant
-Spider-Man: Homecoming
-War for the Planet of the Apes
-The Dark Tower
-Blade Runner 2049
-Thor: Ragnarok
-Star Wars: Episode 8

113

Modern Video Games / Fighting Games You Would Like To See

« on: December 28, 2016, 06:33:03 pm »

Pick a property and pick a gameplay style you'd love to see for a new fighting! Or just kinda create something out of your own imagination, though at least try to keep in mind a media property of some sort.

One thing that I feel Dragon Ball misses a lot, is quality fighting gameplay.  There have been proper fighting games over the years, I think a number of the older sprite based ones played like regular fighters, but it's been a long time since DB has had good fighting in it, as Xenoverse certainly doesn't have that.

I'd personally want to see a game that encompasses Dragon Ball, Z, GT, and Super, but done in a Capcom fighting game style, so either Street Fighter or maybe something more crazy being Marvel vs Capcom which allows for a lot more special bar craziness and mobility.  V Triggers could be powering up or even transformation like Super Saiyan, supers are clearly for the special moves like Final Flash for Vegeta or Supernova for Frieza.  Art style could actually be what they used on like what I feel is only one cutscene in the entire game of Xenoverse 2, where they show the death of Gohan in Trunks future, and it has like this serious shading and lighting and detail.  It looks like it is from a different game and gives Dragon Ball some visual depth it hasn't had too much of.  The rest of this game doesn't look this good lol  Either this or something on the level of animation quality that is Guilty Gear Xrd, which uses 3D models to create an animated look.

114

Off Topic / Favorite Movies of 2016

« on: December 19, 2016, 09:55:04 pm »

Just like with everything else, what was the best or maybe the worst you watched this year?

Favorite Movies
- Star Wars: Rogue One - While not a perfect movie, suffering from some lack of characterization, I had a ton of fun with the movie and the ending is great.

- Deadpool - I expected this movie to be not too great, but it turned out to be completely hilarious and a really goofy time.  Reynolds finally got to portray Deadpool how he wanted.

- Dr. Strange - Yet another solid Marvel movie, giving us a great new character for the series.  I love the visuals in this one, which really make it stand out from all the rest.

- Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them - I really enjoy the Harry Potter world, even if I'm not a reader of the books. I love the movies though, so to know we'll be getting more and more movies for awhile is a good time.

- Ku Fu Panda 3 - This has been a series I've enjoyed since the first and I'm so glad it wasn't something run into the ground like Shrek or Ice Age, we get one every few years with a good story and it's so far been just a great time.

- Zootopia - On the other hand, I'd love to have Zootopia movies every two years.  I think with this world they've created, there's a lot of different stuff they could do in it.

- Avengers: Civil War - While it's not the REAL Civil War that the comics brought, I still enjoyed the rivalry going on, the introduction of what seems like a finally good Spiderman, we got some great action scenes, it was just a solid time.

Honorable Mentions
Finding Dory
Warcraft
Kingsglaive
10 Cloverfield Lane

Worst Movie
Ghostbusters - I went to this movie for free and still regretted it.  I'm usually pretty good about picking movies, whether I'll like them or not, and while I had heard this was mostly bad, I had weirdly heard some people say it wasn't so, that there were some funny moments, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I actually watched it after Suicide Squad, which wasn't a bad movie I thought, but not too great.  I have never walked out of the movie, but I was so close.  This is not just a terrible reboot, it's a terrible comedy.  It's some of the most unfunny jokes.  I only laughed twice, almost back to back, at the very end of the movie, at two mostly nothing jokes.  This was garbage and probably one of the worst movies I've seen in years.  Not that I watch too many bad movies, I avoid as much as I can, but this one I let slip through and it'll forever haunt me.

115

Marketplace / Selling Dragon Quest Builders on PS4

« on: December 12, 2016, 10:52:04 pm »

With a bit of a backlog and losing interest, I've decide to just let Dragon Quest Builders go.  Played it a few hours (and consequently lost that few hours without realizing how the saved system worked) and it's a fine game, I just don't see myself getting back in any time soon.  Looking to sell it for $30, which covers shipping.

116

Modern Video Games / 2017 In Gaming

« on: December 06, 2016, 11:20:38 pm »

With most of the big games finally released for 2016 and only a couple weeks till 2017, what games are you looking forward to next year?

Yakuza 0 & Yakuza Kiwami - I've always wanted to try out this series, especially with my Japanese culture draw lately, so I'm very glad we are getting 0 and the remake of Yakuza one in the same year.

Resident Evil 7 - I'm both excited and reserved for this one.  I am glad they are moving back to a more true survival horror experience, but I feel a lot of it is too familiar to games that are nothing but jump scares, hiding, and running.  That's not a fun game to me, but RE7 has actual combat in it, so I'm curious if that'll work better for me.  I have played the demo and they are suitably creepy, which is a good start.

Berserk: Band of the Hawk - I've never liked too many of the Musou games, but with Hyrule Warriors and then Attack on Titan, and now Berserk which looks bloody and crazy as a Berserk game should be, I'm stoked to play this. I find it funny that the video game looks way better than the anime lol

Horizon: Zero Dawn - Open World? Check.  Scifi? Check.  Post-Apocalyptic? Check.  Kinda everything I love lol

Mass Effect: Andromeda - I've liked the series with ME2&3, so it'll be nice to return and its looks like a pretty nice overhaul with more exploration and a whole new galaxy to explore.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole - It's dumb, it's fun, so I'll definitely grab this.

Yooka-Laylee & A Hat in Time - One is a game made by fans of the original N64 platformers, like Banjo-Kazooie.  The other is a game that is a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie made by people who also made Banjo-Kazooie.  I love everything about both.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - I'm not someone that particularly loves the western setting, nothing wrong with it, but I had a great time with the first game and this is one I've been wanting them to make since GTA5 came out, because if this game is nearly as good as that, or better, I will be amazed.  That's a great open world.

Games I'm interested in, but not sure of yet.
-Nioh
-For Honor
-Nier: Automata
-Prey

117

Modern Video Games / PSX 2016

« on: December 03, 2016, 12:52:28 pm »

Interesting possibilities showing up at the Playstation Experience today in 10 minutes.  Rumors of everything from Marvel vs Capcom 4/Reboot, Last of Us 2, possible FF7 Remake related stuff, Dissidia console announcement, it could be a fun time.  I'll do my usual live post of things.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.  Stars a woman from the series that I forget who she is lol  Almost thought they were already announcing another Tomb Raider lol

Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite.  Looks to be a return to older MvC style which is 2v2.  2017 release

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 available on PS4 today.

Wipeout: Omega Collection.

Crash Bandicoot gameplay shown.  Looks great. "Crash Bandicoot: N'Sane Trilogy"

This isn't from the event, but I just saw that Yakuza 1 is being completely remade for PS4 and will be out, in the west, Summer 2017. Renamed Yakuza Kiwami.  I get to go back to play these games like I wanted to.  This is out 2017, Yakuza 6 is out in the west 2018.

The Last RE7 demo is up tonight.

I believe Ace Combat 7 was already announced, but they showed kinda the story.  Visually it looks nice.

Street Fighter 5 is getting Akuma and an all new season of characters next year.

Pa Rappa The Rapper, Loco Roco, Patapon are being remastered for the PS4.  Demo for Pa Rappa available today.

So...Knack 2 lol Kinda surprised.  That game wasn't exactly beloved lol It does have co-op now, so maybe they are looking at making this a real series.

Something for Gravity Rush 2.  Raven DLC for the game for free.

GT Sport out 2017.

Ni No Kuni 2.  I'm actually abit more interested in this game seeing the gameplay.  I fell out of the first one, but this one seems like a more regular action RPG.  Out 2017.

Nier: Automata.  March 3rd. Ys Origin, February, out on both PS4 and Vita.

Dreadnought is a console exclusive for PS4.

From Grasshopper Studios and Gung Ho.  Let It Die.  I have no fucking clue what this is lol  Free to PS+ users today apparently.  Garou: Mark of the Wolves and Surgeon Simulator VR out today.  Lara Craft Go available today.

Wind Jammers coming to PS4 and PS Vita.  I think it's a new game? It's old school pixel style, but has online vs and such, so I'm assuming it's a new game.

Starblood Arena for PSVR.  Scifi ship combat arena battle game.  Psychobilly Freakout is the song for it.  Old Guitar Hero memories lol

Oh thank god, Baseball stuff.  Never been a better bathroom break time, though there was almost some whiplash going from Nioh to MLB lol

The Last of Us 2 confirmed.

118

Modern Video Games / The Game Awards 2016

« on: December 01, 2016, 09:06:13 pm »

While the awards aren't a big deal, they do reveal new stuff.

We are getting new Zelda footage, where they already teasing stuff in the pre-show.  Villages, airships, bird people, and likely Zelda.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCVdYopGBN8

They finally confirmed the Bullet Storm Remaster, a dumb fun game from the last generation which apparently have a Duke Nukem bonus mission or something.

More proper Zelda stuff to come and there will be Shovel Knight footage.

Brand new Death Stranding trailer, introducing some new actors to the world, more of the setting, and just as much weirdness as always lol

119

Off Topic / Favorite Albums Of 2016

« on: November 29, 2016, 11:10:38 pm »

Coming up on the end of the year, usually not a lot of big stuff comes out in December, compared to say movies, where there's at least 2 or 3 good looking movies coming up in the theater, so lets post like our avorite albums of the year that you enjoyed.

Anthrax - For All Kings
Anthrax definitely came back pretty well with Belladonna, who I always liked more Bush, even if there are a few songs I like during Bush's era.  Worship Music was a real good return to form (Not the first time I'll say that in here), but as a whole, it wasn't all great.  For All Kings to me is a much more consistent album all the way through.  Just some solid heavy metal.  I actually was fortunate to see them live for the first time this year and they killed it live.  All such good musicians.


Megadeth - Dystopia
I've been a big Megadeth fan since basically the turn of the century now and I think this one is definitely up there as one of their best in awhile.  Super Collider wasn't completely awful, but a lot of it was the wrong direction, which Mustaine has done before, and it felt lacking to me.  Even if there's some good stuff in there, it personally ranks fairly low.  Thirteen I like a bit more, but that's a weird album, filled with re-recordings, stuff from other projects, and a couple new songs and I like it, but it's not great.  United Abominations was personally their last one that was fantastic to me as Endgame was fine.  The new one definitely is their best in many years, with lots of solid tunes.  At the same show for Anthrax, I also got to watch Megadeth for the first time, which is something I've been wanting for going on 16 years now.  Very satsified with that.


Babymetal - Metal Resistance
I've never shy'd away from my enjoyment of Babymetal, they are something that's missing in metal at times, which is just kinda real fun and upbeat stuff.  You get that more in like Power Metal and such, which is fitting for this album that brought in Dragonforce guitarists to work on a song.  While this album is kinda the whole band maturing a little more in theme, I personally feel it loses some of the goofiness of their first album, but this is still a good album and I'm curious to see how long they'll keep going or if they'll hit a point and just like reboot the band or keep it rolling.


Avenged Sevenfold - The Stage
This album was a bit of a surprise for me, not because it was released with no promotion, but more because of how much I liked it compared to everything they've done since City of Evil, the only most full album of theirs I like.  Everything was very hit or miss, with only a couple songs I liked, the last album being fairly boring, but with a new drummer, they definitely wanted to focus on musicianship and it shows.  Lots more guitar work, drum focus, and some real long songs that don't bore you like in Metallica's last album "Death Magnetic".  It's nothing amazing, but I've listened to the album from beginning to end a few times already as there isn't much I want to skip.

Honorable Mentions

-Metallica - Hardwired...To Self-Destruct - It's a great return to form for Metallica, definitely their best since the Black album, but it's still not very exciting.  A couple good songs here and there, but some kinda boring stuff too.  It has great production, but I wish Hammet wasn't in the band any longer.  He was not only basically cut from the writing, but he still has very little in way of guitar skills anymore.  You look at like the first 10 years of Metallica and then you look at the last two albums and see him live and are just disappointed.  I will keep listening to the album, it's good, but you can see other members of the Big Four like Anthrax and Megadeth who feel far more comfortable doing good metal stuff compared to Metallica, who seem like they are trying to return to the old stuff.

-Devin Townsend - Trascendence - Since getting to know Townsend and his large library of albums, he can kinda do anything and I'll always listen, he has a very unique style and great voice, but lately some of his stuff doesn't quite pull me in.  Less heavy stuff, more melodic, and I feel he utilizes too much chorus singing and he gets kinda buried, which isn't surprising when you know abit about him and how he deals with everything.  Still some enjoyable melodic stuff on here and more Townsend is always good.

120

General / The Final Fantasy Thread

« on: November 20, 2016, 08:39:51 pm »

I figured with Final Fantasy XV coming up in less than two weeks, we could just kinda start up a thread to talk about what we enjoy in the series, what you are wanting from Final Fantasy XV, and just kinda everything Final Fantasy for the fun of it.  No getting upset over what someone likes or getting feisty, there's a lot of different Final Fantasy fans.

For me personally, I'm not someone who's played anything before Final Fantasy 7.  It's a tad hard for me to get invested in some of the older turn based stuff nowadays, though I do plan to get into Final Fantasy 6 someday. 

FF7 - I beat this game at a friends house as I didn't own a PS1.  Was a tun of fun and still a favorite of mine, though I haven't replayed it in many years.  Lost my copy to a so-so friend in high school that borrowed it and moved lol I'm pretty stoked for the remake.

FF8 - I only played about half the game.  I didn't like it as much as FF7.  The draw system was kinda annoying and it felt less...interesting, I don't know, it just wasn't working with its style, even though I kinda like the modern/fantasy mix usually.

I need to go and play FF9 sometime.  Never gave it a fair go at the time and barely touched it.

FF10 - This is the only other one I basically beat and at the time it blew me away as a PS2 game.  The story and writing is kinda garbage, with poor voice acting for some characters, but the summons were great and I liked the sphere system.

Barely touched FF10-2, but it seemed silly.

FF11 - I played abit of this, up till around level 25, which sounds low, but that game is brutal and takes forever to level lol I kinda liked it, but it was a game that required teammates every time you played, so I kinda fell out of it.

FF12 - I only put like 10 hours into it and while there was stuff I like, it didn't pull me in as much.  I might try the remaster out sometime.

FF13 - And screw this garbage...It's pretty, but garbage.  I heard 13-2 is slightly better, but nah.  And didn't touch 13-3.

FF14 - Only played the intro stuff and while it seems cool, just not into MMO's much anymore unless they have something really unique and interesting going on.

Haven't played any of the other Final Fantasy off shoot games.

I'm pretty stoked for Final Fantasy XV.  It's got a lot I'm into design wise, with open world stuff, the setting, an action RPG oriented combat system, and after watching Kingsglaive and seeing some of the action shown off in trailers for the game, I hope for a true spectacle in terms of battle and cinematics.  I'm also wary of the game not reaching it's supposed hype, but as I've seen brought up, this is Squenix's go at rebuilding the FF franchise after FF13, which was financially successful for them I believe, but outside of Japan, a lot of people did not like the trilogy.  They then had that Final Fantasy 14 screw up, though they turned that around and I think that is what needs to happen with FF15, which is what I am thinking with them going all in on FF15.