I'm still playing Days Gone, it's a longer more content packed game than I was initially expecting. I thought that I was nearing the end of it, but I recently opened up a whole new section of the map which is a good size. I was hoping that the mission types were going to get more diverse in the new area, but unfortunately they're basically just more of the same.
The main storyline of the game is more than long enough on its own, so the game didn't really need all of the filler side activities that it has. They boil down to three things: clearing freaker nests, clearing bandit camps/rescuing hostages and restoring power to checkpoint facilities. Early in the game these things are story missions, but then they become repeated optional side missions. And they're repeated a lot. They're not really optional because they need to be dealt with, otherwise they make things more complicated in the game world. Also, you're unable to fast travel near freaker nests or bandit camps so they're a nuisance that you want rid of. The problem is that they went overboard with the amount of them. I feel like I've spent more time in the game dealing with them than doing actual story missions which sucks since they're repetitive. They could have definitely got more creative with the side stuff that you do in the game so you didn't have to keep repeating the same things over and over again. It just feels lazy. Thankfully the gameplay is good, so even doing repetitive side objectives can still be fun at times.
The somewhat repetitive mission design structure of the game is my biggest complaint, but there are other things that hinder the overall experience as well such as extremely long load times both initially just to start the game and within the game itself for things like cut scenes. And the performance of the game is the worst that I've experienced in recent memory, the frame rate drops, freezes and stutters quite often. It's jarring, and can pull you out of the experience. These aren't issues that you expect from a Sony released game, and why it seems like a game that was released by a third party publisher.
But even with its faults, it's still one of the best games that I've played this gen because of its story, characters, game world and gameplay. The story and characters are strong, the game world looks and feels real and the gameplay is fun mixing melee, shooting, stealth and riding a motorcycle. I know that I'm going to have a good time every time that I play the game, even when doing the side stuff which I admit isn't quite as fun only because you have to do it so much.
jfissel wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:14 pmJust bought Stardew Valley: Collector's Edition at Best Buy today since it was on clearance for $12. Comes with the soundtrack, small guide, and map of the world.
That's a good deal. I liked the little bit that I played of it, it's basically 16-bit Harvest Moon.
jfissel wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:14 pmI'm also about 23-24 hours into Judgment, 50% complete according to the in-game % but definitely not 50% done with the story...I'm in chapter 5.
How many chapters are there? What's your opinion of it so far? Do you like it less, the same, or more than the Yakuza games?
jfissel wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2019 1:14 pmStranger Things has cut into my gaming over the last couple of days since I'm trying to finish season 3 before I read any spoilers.
I heard that's a good show, but I have a hard time getting into shows these days. I haven't been watching a lot of movies lately, either. I prefer spending my leisure time listening to music, playing games, playing Second Life and watching YouTube videos.
It definitely was last week. I know that there's only about five of us left who still post here regularly, but we all usually poke our heads in at least once a week. It's a shame that the return of crim, sonuckles and stawn was so short lived, because I was hoping for somewhat of a resurgence of this place.