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 On 02/22/2017 at 11:22 PM by Julian Titus See More From This User » |
I realized today that I haven’t talked much about video games lately on this website about video games. I will rectify that…now!
After putting about seven hours into my new Mass Effect play through I set it down. I still love that game, but I’ve played it so many times that the conversations are rote unless I want to role play as my heroic but quick tempered Shepard that I’ve concocted. Also, with Mass Effect Andromeda fast approaching, I don’t want to have the memory of the deep RPG mechanics of ME 1 so fresh in my head, because I’m already fighting to get excited for that game. It looks great, but decidedly lacking in the mechanics and RPG progression that I want from the series.
I have gone back to Final Fantasy XIV lately, but only on Tuesdays. I play with my best friend Shanna in Colorado. Long time Nerds Without Pants listeners may remember her from a special a few years ago, titled “Love and the MMORPG”. Even though I love that game, it is far less social than Final Fantasy XI, and as such it has been difficult for me to get into it. With Shanna by my side I have finally leveled a character to 30 (I had leveled like 6 other characters to around 10 or 12), and I’m enjoying the story. One weird thing is that some of the story missions involve instanced dungeons that you either need to have a party of friends to join you, or queue up for a random group. I wonder if this will need to be reworked as the second expansion comes out and players migrate away from early game content. Since the game is so lacking in the need to be social it is difficult to make friends with people. When Shanna and I do grab a random party they peace out as soon as we complete the dungeon. No chatting, no emotes. Just get in and do the thing and get the hell out.
I’m actually going to play some XIV tonight after I finish writing this. I spent a lot of time today crafting, which is oddly compelling. I usually hate crafting, but it’s fun here. I want to try and start The Last Guardian tomorrow and see if I can power through it before Horizon comes out. I have PLENTY of games in the backlog to take care of (I’m like ten hours away from finishing World of Final Fantasy), but Horizon is a must play for me. Robo dinosaurs and a cool female protagonist? Sign me up!
Now I'm getting excited for Horizon. I must patiently wait for the rental to arrive. Grrr.
I'm kind of worried now about MMOs. I got depressed leaving the Zoo business in Zoo Tycoon the other day, what would happen if I left an MMO with real people after a long day?
Horizon might be my only $60 physical game this year, like Arkham Knight was fur me in 2015. TLG took me about 10 hours, maybe less. You should be good there. Get ready for some gorgeous animation, decent but repetitive puzzles, and satisfying but clumsy platforming due to iffy controls at times. Loved that game despite its flaws.
I've been wanting to play XIV again, even though there's a sub. There's just something chill about that game. I don't know, I'm gonna think about it.
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