What are you currently playing?

[66450de42fcb1fox]

Finished "Return To Monkey Island" recently and finally managed to play Disco Elysium past the initial confusion. Quite an interesting and fascinating game indeed.

Got "Ready Or Not" recently too but haven't played much yet. Didn't really like how indirect the controls felt, maybe I have to fiddle with the settings ome more. It's still in early access but at least in gameplay videos seems quite a promising contender for a worthy successor of tactical shooters/semi-sims like "SWAT 4" and "Rainbow Six: Raven Shield".

[66450de42ff17icemann]

Currently playing Prey (2017) for the 3rd time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUCF8_hrLgA

Really great game. The mimics throw me off every time (before you get the scan helmet thing).

[66450de430210JDoran]

I'm playing Atomic Heart at the moment. It's not bad, but not nearly as good as I was hoping.

Icemann, Prey 2017 is fantastic (aside from becoming predictable after a few playthroughs, and the last third of the game losing it's wonder and inventiveness), and there are a couple of things you can do to spot camouflaged Mimics, other than by using the scan helmet;

1. Mimics are not intelligent, and also seem only to be able to copy an item that is close by, so always look for two identical objects close by, such as two stoodup long vertical ashtrays, two boxes of the same size, etc. If there are, then one might be a Mimic.

2. Mimics are easily startled, so if one is camouflaged and then it detects nearby movement then it will revert to it's physical Mimic state. You can make use of this by, in an area where you suspect the presence of a Mimic(s), pick up and throw an object towards anything that might be a Mimic. You don't have to hit the Mimic directly, the item you throw just needs to be close enough to startle the Mimic.

[66450de43046bicemann]

Good points.

I just love how dynamic they make things in scares that aren't all fixed. Some are yes, but not all, and those mostly come down to the mimics. And I like being scared in games. Not many games can do that to me anymore. Been so desensitized. Prey though still makes me jump. So I give it major props for that.

[66450de4308a1vurt]

back to Elden Ring. i just love this game, it gets so many things right.

[66450de430a93Creamy]

Currently playing Gran Turismo 3 again. I've been making heavy use of the RetroTINK 5X upscaler as of late and playing a ton of old PS2 and original Xbox games. Mostly racing titles, but it's always nice to go back and play the classics and pretend like my ever-growing backlog of newer games doesn't exist...

[66450de430f68icemann]

Currently playing Gran Turismo 3 again. I've been making heavy use of the RetroTINK 5X upscaler as of late and playing a ton of old PS2 and original Xbox games. Mostly racing titles, but it's always nice to go back and play the classics and pretend like my ever-growing backlog of newer games doesn't exist...

Ah nice. I picked up a RetroTink after MetalJesus did a review of it on his channel. Works great with most older systems except the n64 where all the games appear quite dark.

Gran Turismo 3: Dayam that game is easily my favourite racing game of all time. Always seen the GT games are the RPGs of racing due to the level of grinding for money to upgrade your cars, trying to get top spot in all of the races, getting the best cars, all the licences and so much more. Love GT3. GT4 is apparently very good as well.

Most I have managed is completion of the first 2 difficulty mode races.

How far in are you?

[66450de43169eCreamy]

Ah nice. I picked up a RetroTink after MetalJesus did a review of it on his channel. Works great with most older systems except the n64 where all the games appear quite dark.

Gran Turismo 3: Dayam that game is easily my favourite racing game of all time. Always seen the GT games are the RPGs of racing due to the level of grinding for money to upgrade your cars, trying to get top spot in all of the races, getting the best cars, all the licences and so much more. Love GT3. GT4 is apparently very good as well.

Most I have managed is completion of the first 2 difficulty mode races.

How far in are you?

A fellow RetroTINK owner, nice! I've had mine since early 2021. Primarily it's for enjoying my PlayStation 2 and original Xbox libraries, though I may take the Dreamcast out for a spin soon. Not surprised to hear about N64. That console is going to have rubbish output regardless of what it's hooked up to. Not a system that I particularly care for, personally.

Gran Turismo is a series I've enjoyed since the beginning, but one I started taking more seriously since around the time GT5 released. I opted for Xbox that generation and didn't get a PS2 until a few years later. Your comment about GT titles feeling like the "RPGs of racing" is a sentiment I agree with too. Car-PGs, even?

Owning every main entry in the series, I'd say GT3 is my favorite as well. Last night I was just messing around on the Arcade Mode, but I plan on going through the licenses and finishing off the Amateur League today.

It's kind of funny... I have a Fanatec GT DD Pro direct drive wheel that I purchased for playing Gran Turismo 7 and Assetto Corsa with, and here I am with a DualShock 2 playing a game from 2001! Don't get me wrong, I've put a lot of hours into GT7 and AC, respectively, but the nostalgia for those earlier titles is still very strong.

Racing games are something I've found myself getting a reinvigorated love for in recent years. I've always been a huge fan of them, but moreso now than ever. WipeOut, Gran Turismo, Road Rash, Dirt, Project Gotham, Assetto Corsa, MotorStorm, Need for Speed, OutRun, Ridge Racer... arcade, sim-cade, you name it!

It sounds like you've not tried Gran Turismo 4 yet, you should definitely give it a shot when you can! Objectively speaking, it's probably the the best in the series. It's still the most content heavy entry in the franchise to the point of being borderline overwhelming. They went all out for that game, and it stands to reason why it's considered by many to be the fan favorite.

[66450de431878icemann]

Noted on GT4. Will have to give that a go. I gave GT3 a solid attempt several years ago, as it had been one I'd always wanted to fully complete. Then I realized bit by bit the level of commitment required to do that, and thus only beat the 1st 2 difficulties, and this was via emulator too, but played with an actual dual shock controller.

[66450de431a17Creamy]

If you're playing on an emulator, I'd recommend using the right analog stick to control your accelerating and braking if you're not already. The reason being the buttons on the DualShock 2 are analog but unless you're gone through some hoops to configure them as such on PCSX2 - they'll be read as digital inputs, meaning you'll either be fully accelerating or fully braking and lacking the finer control that you may need to effectively race.

Both GT3 and GT4 allow for analog accelerating and braking (though GT3 will require you to change it from the default cross and square buttons in the options menu)

[66450de431b33icemann]

Ah good to know.

[66450de431d97icemann]

The last few days was spent playing the Doom 2 mod "MyHouse", which is a tribute to one of the first ever fan made levels (of the same name) released for Doom back in the 90s, after the death of the original levels creator.

The original was a simple recreation of a guys house in the Doom engine. The tribute mod on the other hand, takes that level and gives it the PT / Silent Hill treatment, with it gradually turning into a more hellish version (over numerous iterations) as you progress through it.

This was the 1st mod to pull me back into the Doom mod scene in several years after watching John Romero play through it. I HIGHLY recommend this one to everyone here, and don't just judge a book by it's cover, as its so much more than that. Plus your in for a real treat.

The one bits of warning I would give would firstly be to play it blind for your first play through (not that I did) for the best experience. After that I'd recommend trying for the "good ending", but that if you choose to go down that path then A LOT of reading or experimenting in the mod is required.

If you do choose to go down the rabbit hole and play it, then also be warned that the music and general feel of the mod tends to stick with you for a while, even after being away from the PC.
And there is some supplementary story content:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18Nx7kUQwmxUGoXqL6FiUwFY--up64fgo

[66450de431ef1fox]

Blood West - Full Game Launch Trailer - Weird West legends meet eldritch horror in a new stealth FPS

It's really good. Feels a bit like Thief overall. Well, a less stealthy, violent Thief in a Weird West setting. I have not beaten this game yet but from what I have seen, this seems like a fair review:

Splattercatgaming: "One of the Year's Last Open World RPGs is Also One of the Best"