Even that thread is full of mixed messages but I guess I’ll just risk it.

I’ve heard such disparate opinions of WotR, I’m very interested to see what I feel about it whenever I get to it. I played Kingmaker over Christmas and while I really enjoyed parts of it I was also endlessly frustrated about many things. And some things I’ve heard make me anxious about the sequel too. I’m also very concerned about the scale and scope - I enjoyed the more grounded narrative and setting of KM and worry I’ll have trouble getting onboard with being a Chosen One and battling gods and other epic narratives and whatnot.

Man I bought F.E.A.R. recently for like a dollar on GOG and I really want to play it, but I don’t want SecuROM malware all over my system.

Seeing you post from an account without a profile picture feels profoundly weird.

I do feel like smartphones are close to essential in modern society. I can’t say I like that, but it is what it is. From all the things you describe to stuff like sending money between each other and paying for services in today’s cashless society you really kind of struggle without one.

For me, I got my first phone at 11 or 12, but back then it was of course not a smartphone but a regular cell phone. Times were different then. Kids still interacted with each other during recess, the best distraction your phone had available was Snake. The internet as we know it wasn’t a thing. The main thing you used your phone for was actually calling people.

I saw Skald: Against the Black Priory was 40% off and I’ve had my eyes on it for a while, so I just went for it. Have played about 6 hours now and I’m loving it. The only thing I’m unsure of is replayability as it’s feeling fairly linear and with only marginal decision making, but otherwise it’s been really cool. You get the old school late 80s/early 90s RPG look but with a less clunky feel. It doesn’t have the most beautiful sprite work, but I really like the art for the splash screens. The music is great and nostalgic and the display settings emulating period monitors via filters was a lovely touch.

The writing feels solid and the atmosphere of gloomy hopelessness and cosmic horror really works for me. Combat has felt fun enough - though fairly simple - and I don’t think the game is long enough that it will become a problem.

Looking forward to seeing how it ends, but from what I’ve seen so far I’d recommend it to almost anyone. It’s not that expensive either, even at full price.

Did you get XIII classic or the remake? I played classic just recently as a fun retro game that I missed back in the day. It’s got so much style, even though some levels felt a little clunky. It’s a shame no other game went for the same art style, they really nailed that look of “play in the panels of a comic book”.

Does the definitive edition still have the music of the original? I know it’s technically anachronistic, but those Django Reinhardt tunes were so iconic.

Otherwise I agree, though I only played Mafia 1. I remember it came out the same year as GTA 3, and it was very much the sort of mature and serious option. I personally always preferred it.

I have my issues with the game, but it was still a solid 7.5/10 for me in the end. Just the kind of brain-off entertainment I needed after playing two lengthy CRPGs, and a very good deal at 80% off like it was recently.

The base game felt fine, it’s got a fairly brisk pace and it’s not too long. I think as long as you don’t try going for 100%-ing the game you should be finishing the main story just about when you’re starting to get tired of the game.

I will also say, for a 13-year-old game it looks really great. Granted I played it with DLDSR 1.78x and RTX HDR, but it’s hard to believe this was made for the PS3.

You’re right, that’s the one! For the uninitiated.

I decided to push through and finish the Sleeping Dogs DLCs - not really out of a desire for more but rather so I could feel I’ve truly completed it and could uninstall it and move on in peace. This probably coloured my opinion on them a bit as the main story had already almost outstayed its welcome at around 35h.

Nightmare in North Point is an obviously Halloween themed DLC, so maybe I’d have liked it better if I played it in season. There are one or two funny moments, but overall the new mechanics get old quickly and the gameplay is too repetitive to be interesting. It’s also an obviously non-canon experience with all the supernatural events, which makes it even harder to get invested in. Highly mediocre, honestly don’t waste your time on this.

Year of the Snake is also holiday-themed, this time around the Chinese New Year. Taking place after the main story, Wei Shen has been temporarily demoted to a beat cop as punishment for the carnage he caused during the events of the main story. I do like this acknowledgement, though seeing him tried for domestic terrorism would probably have been more appropriate. The first half of the DLC is alright, but unfortunately the latter part focuses on the biggest weakness of the game: gunfights. In particular, there is an absurdly long boat chase where you have to shoot down probably 50 pursuing boats, most of which spawn in plain sight. Maybe it would feel better on mouse and keyboard, but on controller the gunplay was painfully atrocious. The plot wasn’t satisfying either, so I would recommend just starting it to see the cutscene of Wei as a beat cop and leaving it there.

The Zodiac Tournament is actually integrated into the main story, but I didn’t play it until now. I’m glad I saved it for last, because this was finally a good DLC. Clearly inspired by Bruce Lee type movies, it’s a very simple plot about martial arts tournament on an island. Even with its very predictable twists this was an enjoyable (but short) ride, no doubt partially because it focuses on the good part of Sleeping Dogs combat: melee. Since it is integrated into the main story you also have access to all your character upgrades - unlike the other DLCs - which also made it more enjoyable. This one gets a thumbs up.

Up next, for a change of pace, will probably be Skald: Against the Black Priory. Picked it up on sale recently and looks really neat.

I feel like I’ve seen this before. I think it might be from a short film made in connection with The International some years back? Gabe used to show up in those in some fashion.

I miss FUCKER.

I actually don’t know. Maybe? I’ve never used a sandbox before so I’d need an expert opinion. That would be a great solution if it works.

I genuinely think FarmVille is a contender, as I said in the other thread, but realistically gaming has existed long enough that picking just one is kind of impossible. There have been several shifts and revolutions. With how much of the revenue in gaming currently flows through mobile games, gacha games and live service games etc I really do believe FarmVille might be the strongest influence on the current landscape of gaming. But historically, it’s possible Doom was more important for its development. Or even Super Mario Bros for putting home consoles on the map. I could even see an argument for Minecraft - it’s completely ubiquitous and an absolutely global phenomenon.

Gaming is already big enough and has existed long enough that the question is fairly unanswerable. It’s like picking the most influential movie. Is it Birth of a Nation for inventing cinematic language? The Jazz Singer for popularising “talkies”? Is it Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory in Lyon for being the “first”? Is it The Wizard of Oz? Is it just Citizen Kane? The truth is, it’s none of them. It’s all of them.

I still am too freaked out to wear the radium dial watch I inherited from my grandfather.

Candy Crush and Clash of Clans were both released in 2012. FarmVille was 2009, years earlier. You could call those two the first wave maybe after the genie was out of the bottle, but FarmVille was the great progenitor.

I’m going to be a little left-field with this one. Yes you could pick some boring obvious answer like Pong, Doom or Minecraft and that’s perfectly valid. I’m not saying those are incorrect.

I’m going to go with FarmVille though. It’s really hard to overstate the impact it has had on the gaming landscape (for the worst, if it needed spelling out). It popularised an all new approach to monetisation and retention systems in games, it heralded the proliferation of microtransactions, Games-As-A-Service models and manipulative skinner boxes designed to extract the most money and attention out of you. It opened the door - by being a “social game not just for gamers” - to an entirely new market whose wallets were previously unavailable. It created this malicious new insight that the best way to make money is not to just make a good game and sell it - it is to create an addiction through psychologically manipulative means, then slowly leech their users’ wallets over time.

FarmVille really fucked us over.

Great writeup. In retrospect it’s absolutely insane how many series-defining features were introduced in Gen 2. That kind of generational leap is mindboggling.

I love your username btw, brings me back to the schoolyard, to Kangaskhans with Fly and rumours of finding Mew under the truck in Vermilion.