A gaming thread for 2019

Guys!

I just impulse bought a gtx 1080

Then i cancelled it

Then impulse bought an Xbox One X for collection today

Once you get past a certain point your soldiers become ubermensch and the game becomes much easier, the campaign is usually decided within the first couple of months. It’s why I jack my game up with mods so that the aliens are a bit smarter, have more toys and their squad sizes are much larger in the late game. (I’ve no idea what the modding situation is for console users, but again one of the key reasons I do return to XCom 2 is its massive community that have turned out stuff like Alan Partridge voice packs and total reworks of the soldier classes).

I think the jump ups in difficulty are very manageable. If you’ve got the hang of things I’d go for Commander difficulty, even Ironman Normal gets a bit boring. Also the WOTC expansion adds a huge amount, highly recommended.

My own game is on hold right now because WORLD CUP and also Darkest Dungeon have released a big new expansion which is the usual blend of enthralling and infuriating.

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Jamos/Parsefone - how do the DLCs work? Do they change the base game?

colinzeal mentioning the Ironman mode made me think of Darkest Dungeon and the way the no save “cheating” intensifies things. I think using saves has been a lazy way to learn the systems quicker through trial and error.

I’ll probably go no saves whatever the difficulty, and hope I don’t end up with a situation where my only available soldiers are three sharpshooters and three specialists for a time limited mission, like happened in this play.

Didn’t realise there’s more DD content but tbf I’ve never beaten it. Was about up to the Darkest Dungeon (again) before XCom 2 took over.

If you DD again I strongly recommend Radiant mode, purely because it cuts down on the tedious grind by at least a third. I’d also probably avoid the Crimson Court DLC because as good/lavishly horrible as it is, it’s fucking hard and affects the core game a lot. Color of Madness doesn’t do that (much).

You can tinker with XCom’s DLC, so you can have the introductory missions (which are by and large a lot of fun) or not. WOTC changes the base game, the other DLC just adds stuff. Generally what I do is go for the integration into standard play option.

The only thing I’ll say against Ironman is that if you’re hit by a bug your playthrough can be fucked. Firaxis have mostly ironed those out, though.

looks like the price has gone back up now, sorry :frowning:

but yeah, I got the resistance pack which enables you to build these robot lads

and gives the enemy these “boss” units that can move after each one of your characters takes a turn which obvs increases the difficulty a bit. it also gives you some more cosmetic options to customise your units but I’m not really bothered about that. think it gives you some new missions too but you’d need to start a new game and I was already too far in for that.

I got the war of the chosen add on pack as well which seems to be a new, separate campaign. I’ve not played it yet, gonna finish my current one first

thing with xcom is if you’re late into the game and find yourself left with a bunch of rookies cos you ballsed it all up, you’re basically boned and might as well start from the beginning if you ever want to finish the game… but hey that’s the ‘ironman’ experience.
it’s something darkest dungeon does better in that respect, imho.

The McElroys did a Spy Party primer before they left Polygon that was typically amusing.

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Because there aren’t any easy missions to level up new recruits? With Darkest Dungeon the grind to get people up to scratch for late game can be a bit much, and I think that’s why I gave up first playthrough. I was on Radiant most recently and whilst the fodder were levelling up quicker, I seemed to be struggling for relics to upgrade Christiania at the same pace. XCom 2 needs some plague doctors.

Rip wallet

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My mate absolutely adores his. He rarely even turns on his PS4 anymore and has traded in all his Ps4 games for xbox versions. He’s in love with it, like in sexy way.

I can see why. Playing far cry 5 (included woth tje console) amd it pops out of the screen. Stunning fidelity and runnig at native 4k… thats kind of insane. And the HDR makes light sources extremely vivid

I played it on my pc on the same display and the difference is way more pronounced than i thought it would be

Keeping an eye on this one. Gets better each time I see it. Platforms TBC.

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it’s always a nice surprise when you find a games-related channel on YouTube that isn’t an absolute multi-faceted shitsplosion of a fucking atrocity, isn’t it?

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God yeah…

Data Beast is one I liked this week. From the Midnight Resistance podcast crew and their mates. One minute reviews of the latest releases.

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oh my god this looks amazing!

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reminds me of this

(which I want to buy at some point)

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Been watching it for a year now since it got shown at an indie conference. Gets better each week and I think, from their replies, that it may be Switch bound. Ridge Racer handling in a classic Sega arcade racer? Yes please!

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Not seen that before, looks wicked! Decent reviews?

yeah it’s got good reviews on steam and the switch port seems solid. Apparently you can use the joycons like a flight stick by holding one vertical and the other horizontal for throttle or something. Bit gimmicky but might be fun.

I just love the look of it, big blue skies and blocky polygons mmmmm nostalgia!