From Newsgroup: uk.games.video.misc


Oh hey, topical PWBE subject header that actually works with the
backronym. Haven't had one of those in quite a while.

Play:
--=--

Dusk Diver (PS4) - So now that I've unlocked most of the sandbox mode I
can see the outlines of the design document. They wanted all the
aesthetic from Persona but all the personality from Yakuza, and all set
in Taiwan. But along they way they forgot that compelling characters is
what drives a player's attachment to the settings, and the characters we
have are all kind of one-note and not very complex. That's why I'm
abandoning the game around chapter 7 or so, where there's a complicated
tower defence mission that's not just constrained by a time limit but
also spread out over a really wide map area. If I liked the high school student and her three demigod buddies more I'd be motivated to go back
and level up a bit in the side content, but I just can't be arsed. It's
a beautiful world they've created, but it's also empty and shallow.

Recompile (PS5) - Soulslike but techie and abstract. You're a curiously anthropomorphic computer program attempting to restart some kind of
damaged architecture from the inside, which means puzzle platforming and third-person shooting combat. It's the shooting combat that's most dissatisfying, because the puzzles are pretty pleasant and the jagged geometric landscape is really nice to look at. After four hours of play
the counter tells me that I'm a third of the way through the game
already, which is moderately disappointing because I was hoping there
would be more to see than what I've already uncovered.

Playstation VR2 (PC) - Connected it to Steam and tried out some things.
Most of the "free" games are just glorified demos intended to make you
splurge on DLC or expanded full games. A few are just 360 cinematic experiences rather than anything interactive that they would have had to playtest. Weirdly I've found that the thing I want most to do is just
sit in the default Steam "room" environment, with its open-air bedroom
and stone garden and mountain view. With only the one working eye using
VR to just be in a different space seems like the most natural and
pathetic thing to do with the technology. I'm ready to go full on
hikikomori most days now and this seems like a good unhealthy gateway
for it.

Want:
--=--

More Atelier games (PS5) - Am I ordering more things from Video Games
Plus in Canada carelessly? Yes I am. Nestled in among the Christmas
presents for the boy are almost all of the recent Atelier games, wot
I've never played through and shouldn't really be the target market for.
I suspect I'll spend a good 72 hour stretch with stimulants and a
catheter to get through a couple of them in the near future.

Bin:
-==-

Nothing gaming-related.

-KKC, who hopes for a nice hassle-free work day today.
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From Newsgroup: uk.games.video.misc

Kendrick Kerwin Chua <kendrick@nospam.io-nyc> wrote:

Oh hey, topical PWBE subject header that actually works with the
backronym. Haven't had one of those in quite a while.

I don't know whether to be pleased or depressed that I guessed the
mechanism by which the presumably-unintentional leak happened before
that aspect was reported on. Maybe what the (amusingly-named given the
context) Office for Budget Responsibility really needs is an ageing game-playing nerd with middling cluefulness - but alas, it's hard to
imagine where they would ever find such a person.

Play:

A Little Bit of... Puzzle League (DSi) - tried out the touch controls
on this again. I suppose it's sort of not too terrible if you play it
sideways and somehow manage to forget that buttons are a thing. And
with praise like that, it's so hard to guess why Nintendo now put
Intelligent Systems to work on endless popular Fire Emblem games
instead.

Grand Theft Auto 5 (PC) - a (little?) bit of sandboxery while trying
out Bluetooth for both controller and audio at once. Which does seem
to add some noticeable lag and is generally worse, but isn't actually unplayable. Which I think might be the theme of this post.

Want:

Maybe more in the way of plausible deniability, given that I suddenly
happen to be playing old DS games with touch controls shortly after
buying an Android phone. But I mean, I do still have a 2DS which probably^Wdefinitely still works, so there's that.

Another venture into the world of portable speakers and/or headphones,
due to...

Bin:

Not previously noticing that my moderately trusty Bluetooth speaker
now has a spicy pillow, to use the technical term - the slight bulge
had popped the battery cover open.

-Rus.
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