All Things Video Games & Game Reviews Part II

[Gonzo]

Hey all, you know the deal...
The other thread hit over 1,000 posts and we have server issues when that shit happens so here she be, a fancy new mega thread.

Anyway, just a quick rundown.

Post anything and everything gaming in here. Console games, handheld/mobile games or PC.

Playing something you love or maybe hate? Find a hidden gem on Steam? Let us know via a review. Try to make sure you give a good rundown on it. Graphics, sound, storyline, overall gameplay and replayability. Let's keep it at a 1-10 scale.

Thanks to all that left me awesome rep comments/posts and even pm's thanking me for the many reviews I wrote.
Just an FYI, developers do read our comments in here I guess. CD Projekt Red (of Witcher 3) was one that stopped by.

Anyway, thanks all for your input and as always, no griefing.

[HC_Chief]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

Agreed. One of the best games ever and it really felt like an accomplishment when I beat it. Everything about it is truly great.

Did you finish Path of Pain as well? I am convinced it is impossible using a controller. I'm going to try it with mouse & keyboard. I was able to defeat Grimm, Mighty Zote, and The Colosseum, as well as the game itself with a controller, but never could get through Path of Pain. JFC, it is nightmare difficulty platforming that makes Dark Souls look like a Candy Crush.

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by HC_Chief

Did you finish Path of Pain as well? I am convinced it is impossible using a controller. I'm going to try it with mouse & keyboard. I was able to defeat Grimm, Mighty Zote, and The Colosseum, as well as the game itself with a controller, but never could get through Path of Pain. JFC, it is nightmare difficulty platforming that makes Dark Souls look like a Candy Crush.

No, I'm not good enough for that.

[BigBeauford]

Originally Posted by HC_Chief

Did you finish Path of Pain as well? I am convinced it is impossible using a controller. I'm going to try it with mouse & keyboard. I was able to defeat Grimm, Mighty Zote, and The Colosseum, as well as the game itself with a controller, but never could get through Path of Pain. JFC, it is nightmare difficulty platforming that makes Dark Souls look like a Candy Crush.

I did not, but I'll give it a go when I play this game again on my incoming Steam Deck.

[HC_Chief]

Originally Posted by BigBeauford

I did not, but I'll give it a go when I play this game again on my incoming Steam Deck.

Nice; please post your thoughts on the Steam Deck.

I use an Xbox One controller & Steam Link for games that are best suited for controllers rather than M&K. i.e. not a good choice for FPS, but for 2d/third-person/scrollers it is perfect. That way I can take advantage of the big-screen 4k tv & surround sound stereo system. Path of Pain is impossible with the controller...just not precise enough. All the YT vids I've watched w/ people speed running or knocking out PoP w/ additional challenges (like a swarm of Primal Aspids...wtf?!?! why?!?!?!!!!?!), they are using m&k.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by DJJasonp

yep. I build those. Have built 3 so far. My latest project was a pedestal with all the joysticks, trackball, tron handle, light guns, etc.

Working on a virtual pinball cabinet now. Obsessed with it, actually. They are fun hobbies.

Questions. How difficult is this to do? Do you have to have a lot of knowledge/skill or can anyone do it? How much is the cost doing it this way? Is it a lot less or just a little less?

[DJJasonp]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Questions. How difficult is this to do? Do you have to have a lot of knowledge/skill or can anyone do it? How much is the cost doing it this way? Is it a lot less or just a little less?

it's not too difficult. you can build easy or complex. My first one I built, I built joysticks and buttons/trackball into a $60 Ikea coffee table.

My most recent one was a bit more complex (a pedestal that you stand at). I'm not very good at woodworking, so I had sheets of plywood cut for me, etc.

From a technical perspective, you can use a $90 rasberry Pi or a computer. The joysticks, etc. - you can go cheap on amazon (40-80 bucks), or you can get upgraded stuff that might run you 200 or so.

There are encoders that you get (some come with the joystick bundles on amazon), but basically, those encoders are taking joystick movements and interpreting them as a keyboard letter or number (joystick left = 'A').

You program all those movements to keyboard letters of numbers (even 'start' or 'coin'), and that's kind of it (outside of collecting the emulators and roms....)

Let me know if you have other questions.

Here's a pic of my pedestal (still tweaking a bit)

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by DJJasonp

it's not too difficult. you can build easy or complex. My first one I built, I built joysticks and buttons/trackball into a $60 Ikea coffee table.

My most recent one was a bit more complex (a pedestal that you stand at). I'm not very good at woodworking, so I had sheets of plywood cut for me, etc.

From a technical perspective, you can use a $90 rasberry Pi or a computer. The joysticks, etc. - you can go cheap on amazon (40-80 bucks), or you can get upgraded stuff that might run you 200 or so.

There are encoders that you get (some come with the joystick bundles on amazon), but basically, those encoders are taking joystick movements and interpreting them as a keyboard letter or number (joystick left = 'A').

You program all those movements to keyboard letters of numbers (even 'start' or 'coin'), and that's kind of it (outside of collecting the emulators and roms....)

Let me know if you have other questions.

Here's a pic of my pedestal (still tweaking a bit)

That is pretty cool. So let's say I wanted to build a stand up cabinet with.....I dunno.....about 50 games like Tron, Asteroids, Double Dragon, etc. Not including the cabinet materials (I think I could do this part as I'm an adequate carpenter - not great, but adequate), how much do you suppose the total cost would be for the roms and all the rest? Is there a board you can buy that has a lot of those?

[DJJasonp]

Originally Posted by Lzen

That is pretty cool. So let's say I wanted to build a stand up cabinet with.....I dunno.....about 50 games like Tron, Asteroids, Double Dragon, etc. Not including the cabinet materials (I think I could do this part as I'm an adequate carpenter - not great, but adequate), how much do you suppose the total cost would be for the roms and all the rest? Is there a board you can buy that has a lot of those?

Emulators and roms are free (on the internet)......the legality of it is questionable I guess....but they are out there everywhere.

With just controllers, etc....you could probably build one for 200-400 bucks.....if you have an old computer lying around, you can use that for the system/emulators, etc. Rasperry Pi works as well. there are raspberry Pi images floating on the internet that you basically download and put it on an SD card.

amazon sells this that makes it much easier:

https://www.amazon.com/Pandora-Conso...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

[Fish]

Be careful where you download roms from, FYI. As someone who's gotten letters from Nintendo regarding downloaded roms, trust me they do watch torrents for those, and will pursue it.

[Fishpicker]

Originally Posted by Lzen

That is pretty cool. So let's say I wanted to build a stand up cabinet with.....I dunno.....about 50 games like Tron, Asteroids, Double Dragon, etc. Not including the cabinet materials (I think I could do this part as I'm an adequate carpenter - not great, but adequate), how much do you suppose the total cost would be for the roms and all the rest? Is there a board you can buy that has a lot of those?

I don't think you need to build anything. I bought my brother one of those 1-up arcade games a couple years ago. he hooked up raspberry pi to that.

yours would be even better because you have 6 button layouts already.

[Mecca]

Don't be downloading any of that shit without a VPN, if you're gonna go with emulators, Roms, any thing that is piracy get a VPN or you can get into a world of shit.

[DJJasonp]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Don't be downloading any of that shit without a VPN, if you're gonna go with emulators, Roms, any thing that is piracy get a VPN or you can get into a world of shit.

if i understand it correctly, it is legal if you own a copy of the game, but yes, very valid advice.

[lcarus]

Originally Posted by tredadda

So Playstation direct is offering Nioh Collection for the PS5 for $39.99. I have the PS4 version of Nioh that I got on Playstation Plus for free and I have Nioh 2 which upgraded to the PS5 version. I know the PS5 Nioh Collection comes with all the DLC. Has anyone who has played them provide whether it's worth getting or should I just stick with what I got?

If you're planning on going really deep into the "endgame" of Nioh 2, you have to have the DLC. If you just want to beat the main story and call it a day, you don't need it. It's a pretty good game. I got pretty burnt out on it after the 1st DLC.

[Tnerped]

Originally Posted by Rausch

Monster Rancher 1 and 2 released on steam last week. I'm addicted all over again. I wasn't super pumped about the $30 price tag but my OG copy wasn't going to last much longer anyway.

Thanks for this. Brings back many memories and I will be buying this tonight.

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by lcarus

If you're planning on going really deep into the "endgame" of Nioh 2, you have to have the DLC. If you just want to beat the main story and call it a day, you don't need it. It's a pretty good game. I got pretty burnt out on it after the 1st DLC.

I appreciate that. Not sure if it was worth it. I might hold off until later and see if I want to go that deep into the story beyond the main storyline.