Since my last post about the game I've been playing it, a lot! I'm enjoying it's take on the Xcom franchise. It's definitely a game that embraces it's offshoot nature. It's S.W.A.T. team mechanics work well for it as does the one-liner comedy and character interactions. So it's fair to say the game ticks a lot of boxes for me.
The end bosses for each investigation 'act' are not all that hard in themselves but the protection they have amassed around them in followers/goons are the tough part. It's a lot more strategic than 'just' wiping out all enemies on the map.
That's not to say there aren't situations like that; But there're usually objectives to meet to stop reinforcements and then you have to clear up the map.
The end few missions definitely took some license with the Xcom lore; At least from what I've known. But so much of it was over my head anyway it didn't matter to me(Xcom 2 still not my thing).
That said the end missions are the epitome of the games mechanics. Enemy waves only getting worse the longer the main objective isn't dealt with. Difficult turns to near impossible to deal with when enemies abound. Overwhelming firepower is not the answer. Team members with multiple abilities/ and uses are key. As is luck. If you find a group/team that works well for your play-style then it becomes easier. RNG is also still a thing, Xcom is Xcom and wouldn't be the same without it. I've had some throw hand in the air moments. The ending was in retrospect worth any hassle and repeated missions. It rounds out the story with a feel good factor that vindicates my 'tv show spin-off' feel for Chimera. Open ended with a mysterious baddie but never a second season to follow it up; And indeed that is a pity.
Fun was had and given a break I can see myself getting back into it for a repeat run(to get to play some characters I didn't get to choose.... Which probably means 2 more runs but time will tell).
After my initial post about the game I've since been way more 'into' it. Once I'd reached the limits of the Prologue I wondered how so many players were progressing further. Screenshots on the Steam community pages were filled with buildings I'd not seen and a greener planet then I'd reached. It seems the Beta branch is open to all so of course I jumped on in; And it's been great.
To get the Beta access....
Go to your Steam Library and right click the game and select properties.
Click on BETAS and select the box that says 'None'; Then select 'development – development branch'.
The game will then update and once done start the game, load your save and Terraform on!!
For a gamer like me its got a massive amount of compelling game-play value. As I've said it's gamplay just like Minecraft or a planet based No Man's Sky. Gather, build, survive... Craft, store and sort items.
The game has a really good technology unlock system as you naturally progress along it and Terraform the planet. Mix in survival for food, water and oxygen and your continually occupied and planning. Small things in progression feel rewarding. Larger ones like your gear upgrades 'feel' epic. There are messages that show a narrative that's interesting. The most interesting of those for me was that of a fellow planet crater that's in need of resources...
Going forward I hope that the game doesn't let down furthering that element of the game and that there's a way to help... And a broader narrative without explaining too much.
Progress in terraforming is itself a somewhat regulating thing. The more you progress the more you can do and do better.... The better you do, the more you create, the faster the teraforming goes and the more you unlock. That's not to say that things are super fast. I like that I had to pause at times. waiting for the planet to catch up with my progress. It gave me time to explore more. I've never felt rushed by the game.
A blue Sky turns to clouds and then rain, the progression feels impactful. The next thing you know your not just making water from ice, your collecting rain and gathering lake water and then filtering and drinking from lake water directly...
View of the old base from the new, work in progress before the creeping 'flood'.
The secret that everyone knows is that the initial landing site, with your 'starter' escape pod is an area that gets flooded. It's easy to see why a player would build a base up around that pod but if you leave it all there and the 'water' phase starts, you'll not have that much time to relocate and restore your assets. Especially if you have a lot. It's not game ending but motivation indeed; I'm glad I had a heads up about that! I'd have hated to have a lot of work be undone if it was quick and devastating.
Even with relocating I got a bit of a panic when my even bigger relocated base was looking like it would be more than just a waterfront property.
Poor pod, o7
Progress in making rockets that help are interesting, rockets that speed up terraforming, GPS mapping and getting resources all help. Not that gathering and scavenging ever stops. Maybe I was lucky but the number of rocket engines I found was excessive numerous from crates.
Crates! Golden crates!! Golden crates with their golden statues is a driving force to check all nooks and cranny's for items. I've found 5(top of wreck, 2 in caves one in ice columns and the other at the spike region).
I even found a golden pod.... Something to remember the flooded version.
Base building and item placement are 'a big thing' at least for me, given the type of game it is. If a gamer is the same as that then you'll get a lot more from the game.
I do have one complaint. When the teraforming reaches a certain level and liquid water is on the surface, Ice is removed. Ice is needed for Vegetube T2's. So for using them with flowers like in the pic above(on the left) can no longer bee done as Ice is a component in its making. That said my only reason to create another one (internal only item) was for aesthetic reasons. But still it would be nice to have a reverse mode in the item creator where water can be turned to ice and not just vise versa. Minor thing and completely ungame-breaking, but for me it would have been nice to have more flowers in the old habitat.
A Beta that's well in development. I'm looking forward to seeing more. I hope that thing's don't get rushed and that there's care in polishing the details.
With one thing and another I've not been playing never mind editing Battlefield 1 game-play footage. The ebb and flow of game-play mood can be a fickle thing; The same with editing. The last few days saw me embrace the mish-mash nature of the edit I had in progress. I'd fallen into the too much footage trap trying to incorporate it all. Some K.I.S.S. methodology and a cutting room floor was well needed. In the end it is what it is. Not too bad, not too good but bear with me, it has it's moments.
All that said I did get into the end of a match last night and had some fun. Not as rusty as I thought I'd be. Now to see if the bug bites and I get back to matches.....
I've always been into and a fan of the Xbox consoles from Original, 360, Xbox one & Series S. So it's no surprise that the only PlayStation console I've owned has been a Playstation 3. Or maybe that should be a surprise..... Why did an Xboxer get a Pony Slaystation! Simples... I wanted in on a PS3 only FPS. As long as it lasted Dust 514 was 'something special'(to me); But that's just the nostalgia talking, it wasn't a perfect game; But it ticked a lot of boxes.
I've waffled on about old Xbox consoles and the games I've purchased to 'complete' or at least 'round out' their collection. It's a personal thing. One persons favorite game is another's worst. As is I'm really happy with the old hardware and games I've kept and gotten. In looking through the online side of a second hand hardware/games chain of stores, I kept going back and looking at PS3 games. My 360 stuff was always respectable and I've already 'completed' my retro Xbox 'needs'(here, here and here). But the PS 3 road not taken was of interest. After a lot of hemming and hawing I finally took the plunge and splashed out on a bunch of cheap PS3 games. In fact the main hassle with buying them was that the postage and packing was 50% of the entire purchase value! 2 Euro adds up when your getting a bunch of games! Why do it now, I'm no collector, but I do like the idea of owning stuff I've missed, intentionally passed up or never got a chance to 'be into'. Yea the road not taken.... It seems interesting now. Seeing 'game collectors' talk on Youtube about the cycles that consoles and their games go through, now 'felt' like the time to pick up some PS3 games to enhance what I've already got. Right now, 'that time' means plentiful games still available at a cheap price. Not that any I've chosen will age like wine. For me I'm just looking to have a rounded out collection of games I'd like to play/see/experience; See what I missed. That isn't the worst future proofing... For me and this collection. If and when I ever get space to permanently setup things... Whole other story.
However I did get a few from a friend who was getting rid of a bunch of PS3 stuff a few years ago. So I inherited GTA 5, Saints Row the Third, Mirrors Edge, Metal gear solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Elder scrolls IV: Oblivion and R.U.S.E. Not a bad bunch at all!
All that said I've been surprised that the second hand hardware is still priced at high values(at least here in ireland). Second hand controllers going for 40 - 50 and even 70 euro for special editions. Console iterations from original PS3 to super slim going for 100 - 150 and up.
I have a PS3 super slim and is 'boxed'. To buy that today, second hand, boxed, they are going for €180+. With a coloured boxed PS3 super slim going for €200.
Maybe I spoke too soon... Prices are going up and up. Crazy. These second hand stores really now how to screw a person over...
I'd say it would be cheaper to find a private seller but after looking at that side of the market those prices are even more insane!
If you can get one from a friend, they're a friend indeed.
So back to a second hand retailer and €2 P&P per game seems more reasonable.
In picking games I went for exclusives or at the very least more Playstation-esque games; Games not exclusive but considered bigger PS games... I'm an Xbox head so I've only my view of what PS 3 was in it's hayday(the enemy.....I joke, I joke). Plus I threw in ones that were cross playform, that I'd not played to get just for fun. As well as some nostalgia thrown in for good measure...... A set of criteria best described as knowing it when I seen it.
So what did I buy(bare with me! Their not all 'classics'):
Virtua Fighter 5, a game series I've not played on any platform since doing so in an actual arcade in the mid 90's. I've always tended more towards Street Fighter and Dead or Alive on console so to get something different for a PS3 collection, this seemed to fit the bill. €2
Brutal Legend is a game I've always heard a lot about but never gotten, one for this new collection just for those reasons. €4
I was tempted to get Fuel but Burnout Paradise Ultimate seemed more bang for buck. And as I've played the need for speed games on xbox......I was looking for a more recent version of the Burnout series for this haul but this was the best version in the moment. Speed and glorious crashes await... €4
Haze had some hype back in the day. That didn't last long once the game came out. Not that it's terrible it just 'under-delivered' and did a lot that was 'meh'... Or am I being too charitable, guess I'll find out.
€2 just to say I own it and have played it.....
Uncharted, 2 and 3.... Because I've not played any of the games. I've heard the hype and seen some interesting gamplay. Given I've been into Tomb raider and Indiana Jones games in the past these games should please me. Drakes Fortune €2, Among Thieves €2, Drakes Deception €3.
€7 for the three Uncharted games. Pretty good!
A playstation game of legend for €10; I've heard all the ruckus about the second game but maybe I'll get to see it from a fresh perspective once I get a hold of the first game and actually know about it.
Gran Tourismo is a PlayStation icon... I couldn't skip getting Gran Tourism 5 for €6
Given my love of Xcom Enemy Unknown/Within and my newfound joy with Chimera Squad; The Bureau was a good choice for this PS3 collection, €2. I was considering getting Xcom Unknown but I've played it to death on PC and have it free (from Games with gold, June 2016) on XBox... PS3 deserved the next option...
The next few are a bit (more)nostalgic in my choices; As they are games I've played on other platforms.
When my wife had her Wii setup one of the games we played a lot was a basic version of Monopoly, over time that evolved to Monopoly Streets. As with all things over time things get swapped and loaned. The Wii went unused for a while ...... then put in the attic... parts given away..... I saw the PS 3 version of Streets, so had to get it. €6
I've not played Fifa games in a long long time. Not properly since the mid 90's (megadrive/genesis before that) to the 2000's. I have good memories of the 2010 SA game on PC and saw the 2014 world cup version as well so picked up both. Besides I think it's from 2017 on that it's started to slide in quality.....
Brazil €4
And €0.50 for SA (As of posting this I've gotten an e-mail saying that the sole copy in their stock can't be found! Refund it is, pity as the SA game on PC was a good one).
Fallout 3. A game I got on my original Xbox 360 but one that I started and never 'got into'. Which is strange since I was so into Fallout 4. One of the few 360 games I ever traded in. I was tempted to get New Vegas instead but I've no nostalgia for it whereas Fallout 3 at least gets a look from that angle... Worth another try on PS 3. Not going to delve to far.... Famous last words. €4
All in all it added up to €54.50 worth of games + €30 postage and packing... Before refund. Yea PnP is a killer even at €2 per item....
Only having the one controller that came with the PS3 was never really a concern. Especially as I played Dust 514 with mouse and keyboard. However as all things PS3 hardware are now commercially unavailable and the second hand hardware is already pricey(or cheap for a reason); However I found a decent, cheap and new(new for real) PS3 controller to fill the need for a second controller. I pickled up a Gioteck VX3 Wireless controller for €12. A controller that takes batteries so long-term a good choice as well. Not a problem now but give it another 10 years and then some, maybe there'll be battery problems with 'official' controllers. Trying to think longterm here as well..... Easier to replace 2 AA than rip the case open and source an internal battery. At a stage like that a wired wireless controller would be a thing....
I didn't expect much from it but after getting and trying it out it's surprised me. It may be cheap but it's not got that feel in the hand. It's a clone of a clone but it works well. It's got a shape that fits well in my hands, buttons are al dente(not to mushy and not rock hard) and the sticks are likewise good. The grips are nicely textured and have a shape that fits my own grip style(little fingers with leverage). I can't complain at all about it. I was surprised. €12. New and very usable....
All in all I think I've rounded out a good little collection.
And as I'm about to post this I get a knock on the door and it's the postman with an armful of padded packages, they've all arrived!!
