That is correct. You do start Rebirth with different summons based on whether you pre ordered Rebirth or if you have a save file for Intergrade (I believe that's what it's called). But they are only 1 star summons which kinda stink as there is no way to really upgrade them.

I just got to Costa Del Sol last night primarily because I watch all cutscenes and read the dialog. But, I only do it for my first playthrough, the second time I skip it all. I did find Cloud riding around on the Segway looking things in Costa Del Sol to be kinda humorous.

We're basically at the same point in the game. Been taking my sweet ass time with it. But yeah, i just infiltrated the Shinra building and im now working my way up it. Chapter 16 i think.

Take the stairs

Lol. Good lookin' out. Dont think ive gotten that far yet but ill keep it mind. Im at the part where i have to do combat in the battle simulator in the Shinra building.

Just passed it then I'm pretty sure. You take either the elevator or the stairs to that part of the building

Ah ok. Yeah i took the elevator. Dont recall an option for the stairs. Thought you meant from floor 63+

I don’t know much about the extended lore but definitely remember all the Tifa or Aerith debates from nerds over the years.

Jessie was a cutie in this one, once you get past the fact that she’s likely batshit insane. Upper class theater girl turned eco-terrorist. There’s no way that doesn’t end with her slashing your tires or hucking the Buster Sword off one of the plates.

Yeah, the dialogue isn’t great. I blame the Japanese.

I’m about over Aerith and Tifa trying to be cute and Cloud having a stick up his ass. At one point in Remake, Aerith tries to give Cloud a high five and he did not know how to react. Like, dude, you don’t know what a ****ing high five is? Lol.

I slept on it so I’ve come to terms with it now, but I learned they don’t transfer legit right after grinding in Corneo’s Colloseum for like 3 hours leveling up my materia. I was so pissed.

I do have Intergrade so I’ll just do that once I finish the main story.

I’ve burned through this one.

Like a dipshit I caved when they reduced the PS Plus price recently so I’ve got all of their free games to play now that I’ve been waiting on. I’m excited to get to Ghost of Tsushima next.

I've been avoiding this thread because I'm afraid of spoilers but I'm 110 hours into the game and I'm just getting to the Temple. I've basically done almost everything I can up to this point. Finished Queen's Blood, Dominated the Chocobo Races, got all the Pirate relics.

I still hate Chadley with a passion but I can't just let some things go.

I'm pretty much at that spot and been taking a long break. Minigame fatigue is real.

I started Intergrade, but only to the point that I was able to save. Rebirth just needs to see a save file for Intergrade for the Ramuh summon materia. It does not need to see a completion or anything. Eventually I will actually play it all the way through.

Agreed. I wish the mini games were truly optional. I absolutely hated the Fort Condor mini game and wish it never existed. While I don't have to complete them, it's beneficial for me to do it which is why I wish it were different. I gave up trying to get the highest score in that stupid pirate shooting gallery in Costa Del Sol. Thankfully I can get the top prize later in the game vs trying to get it through that mini game.

I still don't understand the Gears and Gambits mini-games for the Cosmic Canyon proto-relics. I had to use the internet to cheat, which I almost never do, and that's how I found out there were preset skill layouts and that helped immensely. I have no idea how I won the game but I did win them.

Welp I finally bought a PS5, I know I'm years behind.

Better late than never. Welcome.

Helldivers 2.

You're welcome.

Yep. Most of it's "optional" but you're putting yourself at a massive disadvantage in pretty much every aspect if you don't do it.

Also, a bit disappointed at the lack of a few tracks. Plenty of entirely new tracks but I was hankering for a couple more remixes of Fight On. Especially an offshoot of the Airbuster version. That song ****ing slaps hard.

I beat Final Fantasy. 124 hours. The end is pretty epic.

You realize there's 16 of them, right?

I beat Final Fantasy 38 years ago...

ROFL

There are more than 16 Final Fantasy games

Video game adjacent, I just saw the official Borderlands trailer. Holy hell, what did I just watch?

Are you talking about a movie or a video game?


Thread title = "All Things Video Games & Game Reviews Part I"

Looking at the remainder of 2024 to be honest I haven't seen a single game I have much interest in. Looks to be one of the worst years for gaming content I can remember, most of the games graphically look like from the early 2000's and nothing that is very interesting. I'm hopeful for some surprises but it looks bad.

If you ever played borderlands, it looks very very promising!

I’m 100% in!

I did. I'm a big BL fan. I don't know if I agree with your take though. The casting seems seriously questionable.

Diablo designer on why we couldn't make Last Epoch

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just bought Diablo IV. I was waiting to finish the last star wars game. It's basically crack.

I'm addicted already. Enjoying it more than III so far.

The season 4 update will completely change the game fyi, adding in more Last Epoch stuff :)

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Coming August 30th! As anticipated offline game REQUIRES internet to install, it's Ubishaft so ya that's stupid but it is what it is.

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Looks to me like a year to finish what I haven't had a chance to yet.

I need to finish the most recent Dragon Quest game. I need to finally play through Fallout 4 (still haven't beaten that despite starting it 4 different times.) At some point this year I'd like to run through FFX as I haven't played it it over 10 years. I need to finish or get as close to it as possible with Valheim (I adore that one.)

That and it looks like my downstairs might finally be empty for the first time in 4 years. Time to remodel and fix everything down there. Probably be exploring tankless water heaters and the back end of Valheim at the same time...

I'm so damn jaded. Main character doesn't appeal to me, and this is treading ground I've played a million times over. Happy for those excited, I'll just put another 100 hours into Helldivers.

Ya she's just plain ugly and when you look at the actress they modeled her after it makes no sense. Some are saying they superimposed a mans face over hers.....Really worries me for Division 3, could be a dumpster fire.

Ubisoft has been a dumpster fire. Skull and Bones is an absolute train wreck. No chance would I spend $70+ on this, which BTW the pre-order options are disgusting enough to make me not want to give them money. Add in the trend of uglifying the woman character just to make the pussy-hat people happy, and I'm 100% out. At least Kojima's productions have figured out how to not **** up the models.

Really need private servers for Division 1 and 2 then I'll be happy, c'mon hackers do your thing! Fix the gaming industries AAA dumpster fire.

Actually the indie studios are trying. They're pumping out ideas and games people actually want without any agendas.

Vote with your wallet...

Oh I definitely am, Palworld getting some huge updates and someday I should be able to mod Enshrouded. The AAA games list for this year looks terrible.

Good call on this.

I finished FF7 Remake maybe like a week or so ago. The end got a little weird with the fate thingies and changing destiny blah blah. Still a really fun game overall.

I fired up Intergrade immediately after and stopped immediately after creating my first save point. I may get back into it just to say I did, but at this point I’d rather move on.

I’m getting into Ghost of Tsushima now. This game ****s.

Intergrade is only like 5-6 hours.

I dunno about the AAA comment. That $200 Star Wars game where people are going to pay for 3 days early access and an additional quest on a single player open world game sure looks promising! ROFL

PGA Tour is now available for free via XBox Gamepass. It's been pretty fun so far. PC graphics are great.

You can play the Masters while watching it this weekend... which I'm totally doing....

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I used to be a HUGE Rainbow 6 Siege player but uninstalled it about 1 year ago due to the woke and arcade philosophy they've adopted. They've taken a successful business model and run it into the ground.

The bots are out in full force saying how great it looks, it's fairly obvious they're bots because the white knighting makes zero sense. Massive studios was the last domino to fall the rest of ubi has sucked for a long time but until they hired the diversity manager they were doing well. It will be interesting to see how it turns out because even the Mainstream gaming sites are dogpiling.


<iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HvuIN_TnZWg" title="Star Wars Outlaws Lead Writer HIDES Social Media After Ugly Trailer Criticized &amp; Botting EXPOSED" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2G-qXeVATEI" title="No Rest for the Wicked - The Ultimate Gameplay Preview" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Coming this Thursday, calling it an ARPG but it's much more a souls like if you're interested. One of the few nice looking games coming this year and surprise it's not a AAA title and doesn't require an online connection.

I'm sure kotaku will love it

LMAO Damn, Sonic 3 movie might actually be incredible. Finally getting fat Robotnik Jim Carrey and Keanu Reeves of all people as Shadow.

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1hujLocUYl8" title="Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - Gameplay Reveal Trailer | Xbox Dev Direct 2024" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

This might be good, 2024 release date..Bethesda Studios.. I had completely forgotten about it...The Voice guy sounds a LOT like Harrison Ford.

Finally fired up FF7 Rebirth. I'm in Chapter 4 I believe and it's good, but hasn't really grabbed me yet. Remake hooked me pretty early and I blasted through it. For everyone that mentioned Chadley...holy shit I'm already done with him. I might have to mute my controller speaker.

Should have been GOTY when it came out, imo.

That's the Junon chapter I believe and where the story really kicks into gear.

Yeah, **** all really happens except for the flashback up to that point.

Man, thinking back on it, if you're not already heavily invested in the story those early chapters are a ****ing slog. Especially if you take the time to complete the Grasslands Intel

Picked up Rebirth a few weeks ago and so far im still just on Chapter 2, lol.

Good choice. The story, visuals and emotions this game brings are top notch.

I started doing all of it thinking about going for the platinum but then I read an article that said that you have to beat all the mini games again on hard mode (**** you Cacutar Crush and Glide de Chocobo) so I just stopped caring and focused more on the story that's been a part of my gaming ethos since 1997. Much more enjoyable experience.

This is going to look gorgeous on PC.

Coming in one month....

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The Zack storyline had me hooked from the beginning but that whole Grasslands area is basically a long tutorial and getting used to the Chadley missions.

I'm playing through Horizon: Forbidden West on PC right now, only issue I've had is the sparks that come off the robots are pixelated, so I need to figure out which setting is causing that, but everything else has been beautiful so far. Got a new rig I built in the last 6 months with a 4090 in there, so I'm looking forward to playing Ghosts of Tsushima on my ultrawide. Hopefully it's built for ultrawides... update, it is, woot!

The trailer specifically mentions support for ultrawide. Shake that big booty.

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/75xu5RVkJ9I" title="20 Hours Later... You NEED to Play No Rest for the Wicked! (Gameplay Review &amp; Early Access)" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Were you fortunate enough to get in on the playtest for Hades 2? I know you loved the first one and I see it roaming around the pirate sites.


<iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eFwGn82Gc8k" title="Hades 2 First Impressions &amp; Overview! Everything That is New! // Hades 2 Technical Test" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

IIRC there were a few that liked FF16 here. Just released the DLC along with a massive QOL change patch.

Cannot wait for this one to hit consoles...looks amazing.

<iframe width="672" height="614" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N74Ts995R50" title="Playing No Rest For The Wicked - Souls Like ARPG" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>


Should be fun, livestream here :)

Seems to not run well hence why they put out crazy recommended specs to play. Also in Early Access only Act 1 is playable and Coop won't come out until the first big patch whenever that is.

No I didn't, but I just heard someone compare this as Doom Eternal (Hades 2) to Doom 2016 (Hades) because of new mechanics and that has me worried. I did not jive with what Doom Eternal did after 2016.

I obviously loved the original doom games but ya the newer ones didn't do much for me. Weird I had not seen it compared to doom, I was browsing the forums a bit.

I am still only in Chapter 11 and parts of it have grown on me. My biggest gripes so far really are some of the tedious mini games such as the Ft Condor one or that robot one. I had to search online to see if playing them in hard mode impacted anything. Since it didn't, I did the bare minimum to get past them and move on.

Chadley is the Jar Jar Binks of Rebirth. Why the developers felt he needed that much time is beyond me as I know of no one who likes him. I get him being there for the combat simulator and developing materia, but his stupid music box that you can't disable without killing all volume and his constant cutting in after almost every discovery really gets tiresome. Hoping that in the third installment the scale him back significantly.

I love FF 16. So the new Leviathan DLC is out? I really haven't picked that up since I beat their first DLC and I started on Rebirth.

the most wishlisted game on Steam dropped today.

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this game is beautiful. Manor Lords plays like Tropico but the battles are more involved. I played this morning but havent had a battle yet.

I was looking at this. Looks sort of like Banished which was also a 1 man show

****ing agreed. I’m on the second part of the map now and don’t find completing all of the side quests and interest points tedious whatsoever.

The stand-off mechanic is pretty awesome and I just unlocked Ghost Stance which is incredibly cool as well.

I’m not sure what game it went up against but it must have been amazing.

I suppose my highest praise comes from the fact that I had zero interest in visiting Japan prior to playing and everytime I fire it up I gain a deeper desire to go see the country. Coincidentally I’d also like to become a samurai but that’s an adventure for another lifetime.

GoT lost GOTY to The Last of Us 2. I thought TLoU2’s ending was fitting for the universe it was set it but the character motivations and choices were ****ing atrocious.

We can discuss the ending of GoT when you get there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Made up of Ex Bioware employees that worked on Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3.

Critical Drinker with a big recommendation for Helldivers 2.

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Reviews are now mixed and mostly negative lately

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gdb2BLPColw" title="Mass Exodus as Fans REJECT Helldivers 2 + Sony PlayStation Panics &amp; Woke Community Managers Attack" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

From Prince to Pauper over night

Good.

This is the reason I don't now and never have owned a cell phone - I don't agree to just hand over the most valuable resource I have for no compensation. Data is the gold or oil of this century. I'm not handing it over at all and I'm sure as hell not handing it over for free just to make a call or play a game.

It's time people started to put their foot down and quit allowing themselves to be data-raped for the smallest of conveniences...

Sony caved. No PSN requirement! HD2 on top again.

Damage has probably been done. They've speedran pissing off pretty much every available customer base recently.

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