I sprang for a new high end gaming desktop, pondering if I should pick up anything new to put it through its paces. Suggestions?

You could always give Warframe a try, it's free to play, so the only cost is bandwidth to download it and drive space.

Warframe is a PvE looter shooter with a crap-ton of lore and customization options.  There are (of course) things to buy, but the are all cosmetic or booster stuff to reduce the grind.

Quote from: zircher on August 25, 2022, 10:39:33 AM
You could always give Warframe a try, it's free to play, so the only cost is bandwidth to download it and drive space.

Warframe is a PvE looter shooter with a crap-ton of lore and customization options.  There are (of course) things to buy, but the are all cosmetic or booster stuff to reduce the grind.

Yeah, I played it for a while but got bored because it's become grindy as fuck.

I might reinstall it on the new machine just to see how it looks with the new processor and card though.

Got Xenoblade 3. I'm a bit more than 3 chapters in, so I don't know major story spoilers, but I've got a few things to say, already.

I think this is generally a step sideways for the series and reinforces my opinion that Monolithsoft needs to put the franchise on a serious diet. Having two different factions, one with timed cooldowns and another with landed autoattack cooldowns which you want to come off cooldown together so you can use them in Fusion arts to charge your interlink so you can use your Ouroboros form, combined with a class system which is for all intents and purposes a JOB system from Final Fantasy Tactics and you have a game which is right on the ragged edge of becoming an unplayably crunchy mess.

This is massive game design heresy for 2022.

You know what's also major game design heresy for -insert current year-? Unapologetically heteronormal pairings. Ouroboros is unquestionably a marriage metaphor because it involves two characters becoming one composite being (albeit briefly). One character is from Keves, one character is from Agnes, and all of the pairings are preset male-female. Romeo and Juliet reference? Yes, absolutely. How Monolithsoft snuck this out, got a bestseller of the year slot, and SJWs haven't screamed bloody murder is beyond me. And it is amazing.

Story? Like I said, I'm not far into it, but I can comment on a few things.

On my first start of the game, I despised the intro. Then I decided to restart the game at a higher difficulty rather than tweak it in the menu and I was amazed at all the foreshadowing I had gotten far enough in to get. I still think it's a rough intro, but it replays better than it first plays. Also, kudos for having the steamy shower scene there to make a point. Usually, it's just vapid titillation.

Eunie and Ethel having boob windows in their outfits, however, IS vapid titillation. But after XBC2, I am absolutely positive no one is going to side with me in that complaint. I mean, did you see Pyra's outfit?

As a last note, children in adult bodies is a really, REALLY hard concept to pull off, and thusfar XBC3 has done it rather well. So well that I think I'll add the "clone child in an adult body" trick to my writing repertoire, as it lets you get away with a cat-girl named Mio (only a few letters off Meow) still be a compelling character, and practically all the guffaws of strange dialogue or localization gaffes can now be chocked up to the characters not being as articulate as an adult character would be because...they're not adults.

For what it's worth, I was able to get a working install of Saint's Row. I deleted my first installation, and installed only the code off the game disc. That got me a working game, and the additional stuff downloaded in the background without incident.

So now I can aim, shoot, and drive vehicles. The game is still pretty janky around the edges, though. At this point, that's almost a Saints Row tradition.

I don't have much enthusiasm for the game, and I haven't made much progress.

Space Game Junkie aired a few episodes of Drox Operative 2 and that got me playing again.  I beat the level 100 challenge yesterday and now I'm doing the achievement hunter thing.

For those who are not familiar, Drox 2 is an space action/rogue-lite where you are an agent of the Drox and your goal to pacify a procedurally created sector by sword or silver tongue all the while you level up and equip your ship with a dizzying array of modules and weapons.

I've always played driving and flying sims, still do. But in a more RPG related way, Stellaris and No Man's Sky. Both have gotten a load of updates and expansions that makes the games so much more satisfying.

hexen with walpurgis mod, just played through heretic twice using walpurgis and (forgot the other name) a mod that makes everything more melee centric. also age of kings. working on dragonlance d6 and making mini buildings a the 1 inch is 20 feet scale which is now the scale we play at for all things btw.

Got into playing Rust recently.  I have a private server with a handful of friends on it.  We spent the first few days just getting use to the game, then we got hit with the monthly forced wipe.  Now we're working together to build a fort, explore the more dangerous areas and ultimately try to take down that damn attack helicopter.  Once the wipe hits us again we're going to go every man for themselves with a few agreed upon gentlemanly rules of war.  I might turn on the Halloween event during that to see what it's like.

I just finished Metroid Dread.  I have some gripes, but overall I liked it. 

Now I'm chilling playing In Other Waters. It's a sci-fi virtual novel where you "play" (it has some player input: route plotting, scanning, etc) an advanced AI in a diving suit helping a scientist explore an alien world's ocean.

Back into Battlefield 1 as a holdover until Darktide drops.

Arcade Dig Dug.

  Started back playing Conan Exiles (PC), played it a good bit during early release....it is much, much improved IMO.  Theme, art and play is pretty good.  I would say give it a shot.

I play Return to Monkey Island, A game that immerses you in a fantastic universe, travel the world in search of many mysteries.

Been digging Hardspace: Shipbreaker and doing the daily thing with that.

Bayonetta 3. Which I preordered four years ago.

I just got it today. And I have been enjoying it. It's everything I could have hoped it would be and more.