Case (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
case) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomsecrets2014-02-15 03:32 pm
case) wrote in fandomsecrets2014-02-15 03:32 pm
[ SECRET POST #2601 ]
⌈ Secret Post #2601 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 098 secrets from Secret Submission Post #372.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Re: Games you're playing and games you're looking fw to
I might check out the DLCs to see if they are available for PS3, because I really like the game's concept. I still have a long way yo go with Fallout 3 though!
One thing I'm asking myself: since it's SO open world and apparently without a story to be followed, is there a climax? Do I ever reach an end of the game? I still have to discover a lot of places, maybe it'll become more apparent later on...
Re: Games you're playing and games you're looking fw to
The DLC for Fallout 3 is also good, but skip Mothership Zeta, it's the exception. I consider Point Lookout to be a high point.
As far as climaxes -- Fallout 3, if you do not have Broken Steel installed, will end when you finish the main quest. Broken Steel continues the main quest after the original ending, appends a number of sidequests, increases the level cap, throws in a few high-level enemies, and lets you continue playing when you finish the newly-extended main quest. The stuff you do in the new parts of the main quest is pretty epic, though, especially singlehandedly storming an air base. :D
Fallout New Vegas, due to its emphasis on story, ends definitively after you complete the main quest, and none of the DLC change that. The DLC seems to be a separate story from New Vegas, mostly tied in with the Courier's (that's you) background. I say save Lonesome Road for last, because while they all have their own stories, there's a plot thread that runs through all 4 expansions that comes to a head in LR. You do not necessarily have to do them in order of release (Dead Money, Honest Hearts, Old World Blues, Lonesome Road) -- I did Honest Hearts first -- but Lonesome Road is definitely the climax of the story and playing it out of order would feel a bit weird. They do recommend you do Dead Money after level 20 and OWB before level 30, however.
Unlike New Vegas, FO3's DLC doesn't have any interweaving plot thread.
Re: Games you're playing and games you're looking fw to
I'm interested in New Vegas and the expansions now, definitely my next investment. Along with Skyrim.
The new generation of games is also coming up, I'm afraid I don't even have enough time to google them at the rate they are popping up. Destiny, Daylight and Ground Zero are keeping me on edge already, and also FUCKING ALIEN!! And it looks like it might be after the first movie this time, so maybe it won't suck?
Re: Games you're playing and games you're looking fw to
Are you interested in Dark Souls at all? It's brutally difficult but one of the best games I ever played. Demon's Souls, too.
Re: Games you're playing and games you're looking fw to
Dark Souls I haven't ever heard. Demon's Souls too! If they look similar to Fallout I might check them out. I mostly like games with an open world, RPG, and I have a soft spot for MGS and some of the games of its saga.
Re: Games you're playing and games you're looking fw to
Where do I begin with these games...
First off, disabuse yourself of any notion that they're at all like Elder Scrolls or New!Fallout. They're not. I wouldn't say they're open world, but they do have plenty to explore, Dark Souls more so since all its sections are interconnected. Both games are on PS3, though Dark Souls has additional DLC that was originally a "sorry the port is so crappy" gift to PC gamers that later got ported back over to consoles. (Speaking of Dark Souls, it was a spiritual sequel to Demon's Souls, meant to be multiplatform after the popularity of Demon's Souls meant From didn't need to rely on Sony for funding. They have somewhat different progression in that Demon's Souls is divided up into different levels that you access from a central hub and Dark Souls is one big haunted citystate you have to explore with no loading zones.)
Demon's/Dark Souls are, at heart, a cross between a western RPG (despite being Japanese in origin) and a survival horror game, with a focus on exploration and careful, methodical melee/magic combat. Make no mistake, these games aren't Skyrim, but neither are they a Devil May Cry clone with fast-paced nu-metal music -- each game has a slow, steady pace absolutely focused on exploration and survival. It may take you months before you've successfully plumbed the depths of these haunted kingdoms, because you must approach the game in a slow, deliberate manner if you want to survive. It's in the grand tradition of old-school western RPGs, though perhaps a clear line could also be drawn between it and, of all things, Zork. It certainly isn't focused on aesthetics either -- while graphically it's on par with Skyrim, and getting through Sen's
FortressFunhouse rewards you with a breathtaking view of Anor Londo, any beauty is inherently incidental in relation to the game's overall statement. Its UI for example is almost certainly dredged up from an older era, that of King's Field (another From Software game, of course,) Ultima Underworld, and the first two Elder Scrolls games that everyone's forgotten about by now. Gameplay and atmosphere are at the forefront here in terms of the game's focus. That's not to say that it's clunky -- once you get used to the UI, it becomes intuitive, and it's easy to cancel out of it if you get attacked while messing around in your inventory (and yes, that can and will happen -- the game does not pause when you're talking to people or using the menu. And it autosaves -- so if you fuck up, you have to own it.)What makes the games special is the minimalist approach. You're dumped into the world with some basic background and left to fend for yourself. The game teaches you some of the basic mechanics in the opening dungeons, but it's non-obtrusive, especially in Dark Souls where if you know how to play already, like you've come from Demon's Souls or you're re-rolling, you don't really have to read the messages if you don't want to. Actually exploring the world is entirely something you have to do on your own. It can be overwhelming at first -- especially since your starting class is somewhat important, though you can build your character into whatever you want. It's very open-ended in that regard, and the games are more than willing to let you make mistakes -- mistakes you'll pay for later. (I'm going to have to re-roll when I get back to Dark Souls... I put too many points in a stat I don't really use.) Putting points into the wrong stat is as much your fault as falling off a cliff -- and you will fall off cliffs, because there are no magic barriers, no invisible railings to protect you.
And that's really what sets the games apart, in terms of difficulty. Some of the basic things you'd think of are there -- survival horror style rationing, approaching things with caution or outright fear, some downright cruel booby-traps, and the occasional instant death out of fucking nowhere. But it also means things that modern games have all but excised -- the world itself is not safe. The game does not coddle you. It does not protect you. It won't forcibly shove you off that cliff but it's certainly happy to let you fall off on your own. If you die, and you will, and you will often, it's your fault, and that means there's an opportunity to learn from it. There's no such thing as "bullshit" in this game. And that's really the thing that drives the game -- the opportunity to make your own victory.
tl;dr: These games are brutal, they'll make you cry and rage and throw your controller, but seeing that VICTORY ACHIEVED message when you beat a boss, or when you manage to get past a really difficult section, is almost orgasmic. Easily one of the most rewarding games I've played in years -- all the more so since I don't really otherwise enjoy difficult games.
Re: Games you're playing and games you're looking fw to
Re: Games you're playing and games you're looking fw to
It does look very good actually, I thought the graphics, for some reason, would be shitty, instead it ALSO looks very good. I'm totally buying it.
Re: Games you're playing and games you're looking fw to
But the art direction is fantastic, and the worlds they take place in are second to none. Dark Souls especially feels like a living, breathing place. If you spend the time to look around, you'll be amazed by the care and attention that's been put into every little detail.
...which the game all but forces you to do, considering that paying attention to your surroundings is what keeps you alive.