I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Tue, 01 Nov 2022 16:37:12 -0600, PW
<iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> wrote:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.
$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Not on the PC, but I tried it on Playstation (albeit not my
playstation).

It was a fun game - as far as I got, anyway - although I'm not sure
it's entirely deserving of the hype and praise. Then again, I'm always
more interested in a game's setting and narrative than its mechanics,
and it seems the latter is what gets talked about the most. But it
wasn't really doing anything that novel or - at least from my
perspective - that exceptional. It was another mostly-open-world game
with a lot of melee combat. It was satisfying, but not great.

(Mostly it reminded me of "Enslaved: Journey to the West" in tone and
visuals, although HZD was far less platforming-based than that game. Alternately, you can think of it as a less harsh take on "Elden
Scrolls", with a bit more focus on stealth and exploration and less on
grindy combat)

I wouldn't mind playing it to its conclusion on the PC, but I'm not
sure I'd pay $50USD for the privilege (even assuming I paid that much
for games anymore). It's solidly made but just not that exciting. It
apparently also requires a fairly hefty PC to run, and had some bugs
when launched; presumably those issues are less severe today but it's
something to keep in mind.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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You need to go back to playing Montana Manholers.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Tue, 01 Nov 2022 19:22:59 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

On Tue, 01 Nov 2022 16:37:12 -0600, PW
<iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> wrote:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.
$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Not on the PC, but I tried it on Playstation (albeit not my
playstation).

It was a fun game - as far as I got, anyway - although I'm not sure
it's entirely deserving of the hype and praise. Then again, I'm always
more interested in a game's setting and narrative than its mechanics,
and it seems the latter is what gets talked about the most. But it
wasn't really doing anything that novel or - at least from my
perspective - that exceptional. It was another mostly-open-world game
with a lot of melee combat. It was satisfying, but not great.

(Mostly it reminded me of "Enslaved: Journey to the West" in tone and >visuals, although HZD was far less platforming-based than that game. >Alternately, you can think of it as a less harsh take on "Elden
Scrolls", with a bit more focus on stealth and exploration and less on
grindy combat)

I wouldn't mind playing it to its conclusion on the PC, but I'm not
sure I'd pay $50USD for the privilege (even assuming I paid that much
for games anymore). It's solidly made but just not that exciting. It >apparently also requires a fairly hefty PC to run, and had some bugs
when launched; presumably those issues are less severe today but it's >something to keep in mind.

*--

Thanks Spalls!

-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 3:37:16 PM UTC-7, PW wrote:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Its been on sale frequently, I think for $25, wait until it is again.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Haven't played it yet, but it's on my wishlist. There's just been
other things either I'm more interested in or cheaper.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

PW <iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> writes:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Open world, interesting story, tedious combat. So other than the combat,
it's exactly my kind of game. So much so I've tried to (half-heartedly)
buy a Playstation so I could play the sequel.

As for the combat, sometimes it's rewarding, you sneak and sneak and
sneak and then finally put an arrow in just the right place, opposition
goes boom and you snicker and hide in the bushes. Let alone, sometimes
you can rip a cannon from the opposition and whale on them for
once. Those moments are extremely satisfying and help with the otherwise tedious grind of combat. You can also learn to turn some of the enemies
on each other which also helps but the learning is a bit of a chore.

The PC version bundles the Frozen Wilds DLC but I'm not a big fan of
it. It's worth it for visiting, you can get some upgrades and weapons
from it but otherwise... Well, they introduced toughened versions of the
same old enemies and took away your ability to turn them into
friendlies. So lots more of the tedious kind of combat. Difficulty can
be turned way down though. I don't usually do that but the final boss in
the DLC was really infuriating.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Wed, 02 Nov 2022 16:32:08 +0200, Anssi Saari <as@sci.fi> wrote:

PW <iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> writes:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Open world, interesting story, tedious combat. So other than the combat,
it's exactly my kind of game. So much so I've tried to (half-heartedly)
buy a Playstation so I could play the sequel.

As for the combat, sometimes it's rewarding, you sneak and sneak and
sneak and then finally put an arrow in just the right place, opposition
goes boom and you snicker and hide in the bushes. Let alone, sometimes
you can rip a cannon from the opposition and whale on them for
once. Those moments are extremely satisfying and help with the otherwise >tedious grind of combat. You can also learn to turn some of the enemies
on each other which also helps but the learning is a bit of a chore.

The PC version bundles the Frozen Wilds DLC but I'm not a big fan of
it. It's worth it for visiting, you can get some upgrades and weapons
from it but otherwise... Well, they introduced toughened versions of the
same old enemies and took away your ability to turn them into
friendlies. So lots more of the tedious kind of combat. Difficulty can
be turned way down though. I don't usually do that but the final boss in
the DLC was really infuriating.

*---

Thanks Anssi! I put it on my wishlist and will wait for it to come
down as Justisaur suggested.

My friend told me he paid $70 for it at Walmart for the PS4 version
many years ago so I am not going to pay full price for it for the PC.

But, from his stories of playing it, it does sound interesting for
sure.

And great reviews at Steam.

-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Tue, 1 Nov 2022 20:14:55 -0700 (PDT), Justisaur
<justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 3:37:16 PM UTC-7, PW wrote:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Its been on sale frequently, I think for $25, wait until it is again.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Haven't played it yet, but it's on my wishlist. There's just been
other things either I'm more interested in or cheaper.

- Justisaur

*--

I just put it on my wishlist.

Thanks!

-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Wednesday, November 2, 2022 at 7:32:10 AM UTC-7, Anssi Saari wrote:

PW <iamnotusing...@notinuse.com> writes:

As for the combat, sometimes it's rewarding, you sneak and sneak and
sneak and then finally put an arrow in just the right place, opposition
goes boom and you snicker and hide in the bushes. Let alone, sometimes
you can rip a cannon from the opposition and whale on them for
once. Those moments are extremely satisfying and help with the otherwise tedious grind of combat. You can also learn to turn some of the enemies
on each other which also helps but the learning is a bit of a chore.

Ugh. O.k. maybe I need to take it off my wishlist. I'm not into stealth play much. I can suffer through it if the game is otherwise great (MGSV) but
I never like the creeping around.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Wednesday, November 2, 2022 at 11:19:46 AM UTC-7, PW wrote:

On Tue, 1 Nov 2022 20:14:55 -0700 (PDT), Justisaur
<just...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 3:37:16 PM UTC-7, PW wrote:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Its been on sale frequently, I think for $25, wait until it is again.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Haven't played it yet, but it's on my wishlist. There's just been
other things either I'm more interested in or cheaper.

- Justisaur

*--

I just put it on my wishlist.

Thanks!

NP. I just remembered someone had mentioned a site that had
game sale historical prices. I found one:

https://isthereanydeal.com/game/horizonzerodawn/history/

Shows it's been on sale for $19.99 frequently, as recently
as 9/15/22.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Wed, 2 Nov 2022 14:01:38 -0700 (PDT), Justisaur
<justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wednesday, November 2, 2022 at 11:19:46 AM UTC-7, PW wrote:

On Tue, 1 Nov 2022 20:14:55 -0700 (PDT), Justisaur
<just...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 3:37:16 PM UTC-7, PW wrote:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Its been on sale frequently, I think for $25, wait until it is again.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Haven't played it yet, but it's on my wishlist. There's just been
other things either I'm more interested in or cheaper.

- Justisaur

*--

I just put it on my wishlist.

Thanks!

NP. I just remembered someone had mentioned a site that had
game sale historical prices. I found one:

https://isthereanydeal.com/game/horizonzerodawn/history/

Shows it's been on sale for $19.99 frequently, as recently
as 9/15/22.

- Justisaur

*---

Thanks!

I remember fanatical.com used to have good prices but I stopped
visiting that site a long time ago. And another one mentioned back
then but I forget it's name.

-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wednesday, November 2, 2022 at 6:54:28 PM UTC-7, PW wrote:

On Wed, 2 Nov 2022 14:01:38 -0700 (PDT), Justisaur
<just...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wednesday, November 2, 2022 at 11:19:46 AM UTC-7, PW wrote:

On Tue, 1 Nov 2022 20:14:55 -0700 (PDT), Justisaur
<just...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 3:37:16 PM UTC-7, PW wrote:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Its been on sale frequently, I think for $25, wait until it is again.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Haven't played it yet, but it's on my wishlist. There's just been
other things either I'm more interested in or cheaper.

- Justisaur

*--

I just put it on my wishlist.

Thanks!

NP. I just remembered someone had mentioned a site that had
game sale historical prices. I found one:

https://isthereanydeal.com/game/horizonzerodawn/history/

Shows it's been on sale for $19.99 frequently, as recently
as 9/15/22.

- Justisaur

*---

Thanks!

I remember fanatical.com used to have good prices but I stopped
visiting that site a long time ago. And another one mentioned back
then but I forget it's name.

-pw

I dug a little deeper, actually only once at $19.99, the last time. It's
been on sale for $24.99 a dozen times at least.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Wed, 02 Nov 2022 19:54:26 -0600, PW
<iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> wrote:

I remember fanatical.com used to have good prices but I stopped
visiting that site a long time ago. And another one mentioned back
then but I forget it's name.

-pw

Maybe you are thinking of Humble Bundle or Green Man Gaming.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Ugh. O.k. maybe I need to take it off my wishlist. I'm not into stealth >play
much. I can suffer through it if the game is otherwise great (MGSV) but
I never like the creeping around.

I enjoyed the combat myself. You can set traps, and learning those as
well as enemy weak points and which arrows they are sensitive to etc, introduces plenty of complexity; battles can get pretty frantic.

rms

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> writes:

Ugh. O.k. maybe I need to take it off my wishlist. I'm not into stealth play
much. I can suffer through it if the game is otherwise great (MGSV) but
I never like the creeping around.

Well, what I described there was for reaching a specific target which
gives a regional map reveal as a bonus. The game places various enemies
to patrol around those targets. Sneaking recon and attacking a weak link
is not really required but I almost always felt like the underdog in the fights. I think it's because I didn't really want to get proficient with
the game's plethora of primitive weapons so I stuck mostly with the bow
and attacking weak points from ambush. And circle strafing like crazy
when that was not an option.

I'm sure there's plenty of gameplay videos around showing how to kill everything quickly with only a toothpick as a weapon :)

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Thu, 03 Nov 2022 07:11:44 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Wed, 02 Nov 2022 19:54:26 -0600, PW
<iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> wrote:

I remember fanatical.com used to have good prices but I stopped
visiting that site a long time ago. And another one mentioned back
then but I forget it's name.

-pw

Maybe you are thinking of Humble Bundle or Green Man Gaming.

*--

Green Man rings a bell.

Thanks.
-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Fri, 04 Nov 2022 16:22:39 -0600, PW
<iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> wrote:

On Thu, 03 Nov 2022 07:11:44 -0400, Mike S. <Mike_S@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Wed, 02 Nov 2022 19:54:26 -0600, PW >><iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> wrote:

I remember fanatical.com used to have good prices but I stopped
visiting that site a long time ago. And another one mentioned back
then but I forget it's name.

Maybe you are thinking of Humble Bundle or Green Man Gaming.

Green Man rings a bell.

GreenMan Gaming is okay. I don't use them much, just because I don't
think their prices are all that exciting. Fanatical (ne "BundleStars"
a few years ago) has better deals, but a less exciting selection.
HumbleBundle is right in the middle; some good games, okay prices.

GOG is still my favorite, but that's mostly because they're focused on
older games and that no-DRM thing. But they aren't the place to go if
you're looking for fantastic deals.

But as has been mentioned here frequently, searching for bargains is
almost pointless, what with so many games being given away for free. I
wonder how this change to the industry has affected third-party
resellers; I imagine they're struggling a bit because it's hard to
compete with free.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Thanks Anssi! I put it on my wishlist and will wait for it to come
down as Justisaur suggested.

I use cheapshark.com for price deal notifications: https://www.cheapshark.com/search#q:Horizon%20Zero%20Dawn%20Complete%20Edition There's a button there to set a price point and get emailed when it is hit. BTW, I also use cdkeyprices.com to get an idea of a game's current worth: https://cdkeyprices.com/item/horizon-zero-dawn-complete-edition-cd-key-pc
which for HZD is under $20 for sure....

rms

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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On Sun, 6 Nov 2022 07:07:27 -0700, "rms" <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net>
wrote:

Thanks Anssi! I put it on my wishlist and will wait for it to come
down as Justisaur suggested.

I use cheapshark.com for price deal notifications:
https://www.cheapshark.com/search#q:Horizon%20Zero%20Dawn%20Complete%20Edition >There's a button there to set a price point and get emailed when it is hit. >BTW, I also use cdkeyprices.com to get an idea of a game's current worth: >https://cdkeyprices.com/item/horizon-zero-dawn-complete-edition-cd-key-pc >which for HZD is under $20 for sure....

rms

*---

That is the site I was trying to remember!

Thanks!

-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Sun, 6 Nov 2022 07:07:27 -0700, "rms" <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net>
wrote:

Thanks Anssi! I put it on my wishlist and will wait for it to come
down as Justisaur suggested.

I use cheapshark.com for price deal notifications:
https://www.cheapshark.com/search#q:Horizon%20Zero%20Dawn%20Complete%20Edition >There's a button there to set a price point and get emailed when it is hit. >BTW, I also use cdkeyprices.com to get an idea of a game's current worth: >https://cdkeyprices.com/item/horizon-zero-dawn-complete-edition-cd-key-pc >which for HZD is under $20 for sure....

rms

*---

Sorry cheapshark. Heard about cdkeyprices here but never visited
them.

-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Am 01.11.22 um 23:37 schrieb PW:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

-pw

Not on the PC played it on the playstation, it really is a good game if
you like Openworld games with lots of exploration. The story is not too
shabby either.
Problem for me was, it came out the same time as Breath of the Wild, and
BoTW was very similar, but simply the better game.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Mon, 7 Nov 2022 12:19:19 +0100, "Werner P." <werpu@gmx.at> wrote:

Am 01.11.22 um 23:37 schrieb PW:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

-pw

Not on the PC played it on the playstation, it really is a good game if
you like Openworld games with lots of exploration. The story is not too >shabby either.
Problem for me was, it came out the same time as Breath of the Wild, and
BoTW was very similar, but simply the better game.

*---

Never heard of it

-pw

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tue, 08 Nov 2022 17:39:29 -0700, PW wrote:

On Mon, 7 Nov 2022 12:19:19 +0100, "Werner P." wrote:

Problem for me was, it came out the same time as Breath of the Wild, and >>BoTW was very similar, but simply the better game.

Never heard of it

Odds are you have, but - missing it's franchise title - dont' realize
it. It's the latest Legend of Zelda game on the Nintendo Switch.
(more info here: https://www.mobygames.com/game/switch/legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild)

I never could get into the Zelda games; Japanese-styled RPGs were
never my thing. The games are - at least for me - more approachable
than the Final Fantasy titles, but also are too... well,
child-friendly probably isn't accurate, since some of the games had
some mature themes, but they were often mixed with some lighthearted
or even downright silly ideas. "Breath of the Wild" took the franchise
down a more 'western', open-world RPG approach but it's too-friendly
looking monsters and some unfortunate gameplay mechanics (like
destructible weapons) made me cash out pretty quick.

I did enjoy the climbing mechanic; it reminded me a bit of "Shadow of
the Collosus" and I wouldn't be unhappy seeing it stolen... erm,
borrowed by other RPGs.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Am 09.11.22 um 03:15 schrieb Spalls Hurgenson:

I never could get into the Zelda games; Japanese-styled RPGs were
never my thing. The games are - at least for me - more approachable
than the Final Fantasy titles, but also are too... well,
child-friendly probably isn't accurate, since some of the games had
some mature themes, but they were often mixed with some lighthearted
or even downright silly ideas. "Breath of the Wild" took the franchise
down a more 'western', open-world RPG approach but it's too-friendly
looking monsters and some unfortunate gameplay mechanics (like
destructible weapons) made me cash out pretty quick.

Actually the destructible weapons where critized but in the end if you
played the game longer did a lot of good for the game balance given you basically can end the game if you want and have the guts, in one hour of playtime (make the intro missions walk straight into the endboss picking
up really good weapons near his castle and beat him, some people did it
like that but not many)

Basically it balances the game in a sense that you can walk into any
area pick strong weapons then can walk back into easier areas and can
start to slay easy monsters, but you wont get very far with this
approach and then you have to pick the weapons you can find in that area
(which are plenty anyway, in any area, so you never run out of them)
This makes even the easier areas interesting in later stages of the game without reverting to monster strength increase!

Later in the game you get the master sword which is self regenerating,
but at that stage you basically have the game in a state where you can
beat Ganon himself without having to practice hundreds of hours to do
that on a whimsical entry figure.

The story compared to HZD are very similar in its post apocalyptic sense
but different enough, the world building in Breath of the Wild is 100
times better with way more variations in the world and interesting stuff
to find.
And yes the climbing mechanics are awesome. Whats maybe off putting for
some is that the game reeks left and right of japan with its settings
and also its overacting which makes sense as long as they speak
japanese, but hey its basically a japanese game.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 8:14:57 PM UTC-7, Justisaur wrote:

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 3:37:16 PM UTC-7, PW wrote:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Its been on sale frequently, I think for $25, wait until it is again.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Haven't played it yet, but it's on my wishlist. There's just been
other things either I'm more interested in or cheaper.

Since it's on sale on GOG for $17 right now I bought it and
started playing it. I'm probably not that far into it, but I'm
somewhat disappointed in it as I've read a lot about how
great it is, but it just seems to play like Far Cry/AC with
some post apoc stuff/primitive stuff. It feels very much
like a mash up of FC3 Blood Dragon, FC Primal and one
of the later ACs.

It also has a shit ton of crafting/gathering components which
I find annoying. Though I don't really need them, but feel
compelled to collect all the things.

I've been mostly ignoring the stealthing, and using melee
which works reasonably well on almost everything I've
encountered as long as I can kite/separate singles.
I'm playing on normal, so I'd assume it's much harder
if I bumped it up, but I can never bring myself to do so,
and there's of course easy mode too.

It seems to have a bit more interest than the typical FC/AC
game due to the setting and story, but the gameplay itself is
pretty much using the the same very old and now boring
formula with some minor differences and a lot of slapping
a different look on it.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

It seems to have a bit more interest than the typical FC/AC
game due to the setting and story, but the gameplay itself is
pretty much using the the same very old and now boring

With 100+ hours in HZD, I got much enjoyment out of the combat, and
there's a variety of arrow types and enemy weaknesses to learn, but if
you're not feeling that it will be a tough row to hoe.

rms

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thursday, December 29, 2022 at 3:26:40 PM UTC-8, rms wrote:

It seems to have a bit more interest than the typical FC/AC
game due to the setting and story, but the gameplay itself is
pretty much using the the same very old and now boring

With 100+ hours in HZD, I got much enjoyment out of the combat, and
there's a variety of arrow types and enemy weaknesses to learn, but if
you're not feeling that it will be a tough row to hoe.

Yeah, there's a bit more to it than AC/FC with that, the enemy types,
their weak spots, behaviors etc. Maybe it will get more interesting
as I continue. At it's base it just feels like FC/AC though including
the skill tree and crafting which somewhat turned me off.

I haven't really had to use the elemental stuff much, except where
it was required ("Use blast line" here I remember on one mission)
Fire on the snapjaws worked a lot better than melee, and electricity
works pretty well on most things to get some free attacks in.

I'm pretty disappointed getting a mount too. It dies really fast,
I only get out of the herd with it alive about half the time, fighting
on it sucks, and it can't go about half the places, I lose it
when I leave it behind most of the time, and calling it is more
miss than hit.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thu, 29 Dec 2022 12:57:31 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
<justisaur@gmail.com> wrote:

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 8:14:57 PM UTC-7, Justisaur wrote:

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 3:37:16 PM UTC-7, PW wrote:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Its been on sale frequently, I think for $25, wait until it is again.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Haven't played it yet, but it's on my wishlist. There's just been
other things either I'm more interested in or cheaper.

Since it's on sale on GOG for $17 right now I bought it and
started playing it. I'm probably not that far into it, but I'm
somewhat disappointed in it as I've read a lot about how
great it is, but it just seems to play like Far Cry/AC with
some post apoc stuff/primitive stuff. It feels very much
like a mash up of FC3 Blood Dragon, FC Primal and one
of the later ACs.

It also has a shit ton of crafting/gathering components which
I find annoying. Though I don't really need them, but feel
compelled to collect all the things.

I've been mostly ignoring the stealthing, and using melee
which works reasonably well on almost everything I've
encountered as long as I can kite/separate singles.
I'm playing on normal, so I'd assume it's much harder
if I bumped it up, but I can never bring myself to do so,
and there's of course easy mode too.

It seems to have a bit more interest than the typical FC/AC
game due to the setting and story, but the gameplay itself is
pretty much using the the same very old and now boring
formula with some minor differences and a lot of slapping
a different look on it.

- Justisaur

That's more or less the same impression I got. Of course, I played it
on a Playstation, and even then only for a few hours - but I was
underwhelmed considering how much excitement the game had generated.

I don't really see it as a FarCry/Assassin's Creed clone, except in
that it is also an open-world game and thus shares a lot of
similarities - and problems - with other games in that genre. The
problem is that the maps are just too large, so developers are forced
to fill them up with repetitive activities - most egregious of which
is dull-as-dishwater crafting mechanics - to make all that space seem
useful. But while Ubisoft games may spring to mind because they use
that formula in all their games, it's not unique to that publisher;
pretty much every open-world game suffers from the problem. It's why I
am increasingly more interested in smaller 'corridor shooters' that,
while they offer less exploration, have much better pacing.

"Horizon: Zero Dawn" is a perfectly acceptable game of its genre - if
you accept its limitations. But - beyond its unusual setting (and the
usual excitement a female protagonist generates in the media) it
really doesn't stand out mechanically. Fun? Sure, I guess. But hardly
original.

It's why the sequel doesn't excite me in the least. The one thing HZD
had going for was the novelty of its setting... and with a sequel,
that's lost.

But milage varies, and so do opinions. And who knows; I only played
the game for a few hours so maybe there was a tremendous switch up
just after I gave up on it. One day maybe I should find out... but
I've no rush to see right now.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Friday, December 30, 2022 at 7:23:07 AM UTC-8, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Thu, 29 Dec 2022 12:57:31 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
<just...@gmail.com> wrote:

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 8:14:57 PM UTC-7, Justisaur wrote:

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 3:37:16 PM UTC-7, PW wrote:

I have a older friend who can't stop playing it on his PS4.

$50 on Steam. Very positive reviews.

Its been on sale frequently, I think for $25, wait until it is again.

Not sure if it is my type of game.

Haven't played it yet, but it's on my wishlist. There's just been
other things either I'm more interested in or cheaper.

Since it's on sale on GOG for $17 right now I bought it and
started playing it. I'm probably not that far into it, but I'm
somewhat disappointed in it as I've read a lot about how
great it is, but it just seems to play like Far Cry/AC with
some post apoc stuff/primitive stuff. It feels very much
like a mash up of FC3 Blood Dragon, FC Primal and one
of the later ACs.

It also has a shit ton of crafting/gathering components which
I find annoying. Though I don't really need them, but feel
compelled to collect all the things.

I've been mostly ignoring the stealthing, and using melee
which works reasonably well on almost everything I've
encountered as long as I can kite/separate singles.
I'm playing on normal, so I'd assume it's much harder
if I bumped it up, but I can never bring myself to do so,
and there's of course easy mode too.

It seems to have a bit more interest than the typical FC/AC
game due to the setting and story, but the gameplay itself is
pretty much using the the same very old and now boring
formula with some minor differences and a lot of slapping
a different look on it.

- Justisaur

That's more or less the same impression I got. Of course, I played it
on a Playstation, and even then only for a few hours - but I was
underwhelmed considering how much excitement the game had generated.

I don't really see it as a FarCry/Assassin's Creed clone, except in
that it is also an open-world game and thus shares a lot of
similarities - and problems - with other games in that genre.

It's not just that it's open world. The skill tree is almost identical,
The climbing and stealth are almost (is?) identical. The crafting
is very similar (hunt stuff for parts to expand your inventory, etc.)
It's even got towers you need to climb to show stuff on the map,
they just made the towers mobile robots, and you can clear fog
of war without climbing it. It's a skin on top of basic AC/FC stuff.
FC's 18 years old, I don't know if that basic framework started
with it or it came from something before it.

It's a really good iteration of it, and I like the more interesting
setting (Primal and Blood Dragon are the only FCs I've finished
and they have something different going for them, as well as AC
Black Flag.)

It's so far varied enough to keep me interested, and I'll probably
finish it unless it gets very repetitive later.

The
problem is that the maps are just too large, so developers are forced
to fill them up with repetitive activities - most egregious of which
is dull-as-dishwater crafting mechanics - to make all that space seem
useful. But while Ubisoft games may spring to mind because they use
that formula in all their games, it's not unique to that publisher;
pretty much every open-world game suffers from the problem. It's why I
am increasingly more interested in smaller 'corridor shooters' that,
while they offer less exploration, have much better pacing.

I agree with the 'open world' general issues, that's one reason I put
Elden Ring below DS3 on my list. The interesting map parts of ER are
pretty much just bits imported, fiddled with a bit and reskinned from
their non open world games.

"Horizon: Zero Dawn" is a perfectly acceptable game of its genre - if
you accept its limitations. But - beyond its unusual setting (and the
usual excitement a female protagonist generates in the media) it
really doesn't stand out mechanically. Fun? Sure, I guess. But hardly original.

The female protagonist is alright I guess. The voice acting is a bit
off or something, doesn't feel like protagonist voice acting to me,
the voice is a tad bookish/flighty for what she's supposed to be.
They need one of the Lucys (lawless, lu)

Usually I like the female protagonists, but this one just leaves me
feeling meh.

That reminds me, I come riding up on a strider, you'd think people
would be losing their shit, as no one else does that and machines
are dangerous. The voice acting/script in general is a bit
uninspired. At least it's alright, could've got some japan high-school
grade garbage like's in Monster Hunter that I couldn't stand.

It's why the sequel doesn't excite me in the least. The one thing HZD
had going for was the novelty of its setting... and with a sequel,
that's lost.

Yeah... I can't see playing the sequel unless it ends up free

But milage varies, and so do opinions. And who knows; I only played
the game for a few hours so maybe there was a tremendous switch up
just after I gave up on it. One day maybe I should find out... but
I've no rush to see right now.

It is getting more varied, the monsters more varied and different,
requiring somewhat different tactics, armor and weapons. The
frozen sacred land where you start was wearing on me a bit,
but it changes up once you leave that area.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com> writes:

I'm pretty disappointed getting a mount too. It dies really fast,
I only get out of the herd with it alive about half the time...

I didn't use mounts much in my playthrough, mostly to just ride around
quickly and activate fast travel points (campfires) so I could fast
travel to those. BTW, those are not always thought out that well, you
can sometimes get out of a tedious wall climb since a nearby camp fire activates and you can just fast travel to it.

But wasn't there a way to lure an enemy towards you? Maybe in the skill
tree? Came in handy when fighting people in some places. Lure your
target into the bushes, go stabby, rinse and repeat. But that should
work for mounts as well? Plus I think there were skills to improve the
mount durability I think? Or a skill to fix damage to them?

I agree the skill tree generally sucks pretty hard. I remember I didn't
bother with a lot of skills since they were clearly useless but I guess
a completionist would grind the game long enough to have all the
skills...

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at 1:03:41 AM UTC-8, Anssi Saari wrote:

Justisaur <just...@gmail.com> writes:

I'm pretty disappointed getting a mount too. It dies really fast,
I only get out of the herd with it alive about half the time...

I didn't use mounts much in my playthrough, mostly to just ride around quickly and activate fast travel points (campfires) so I could fast
travel to those. BTW, those are not always thought out that well, you
can sometimes get out of a tedious wall climb since a nearby camp fire activates and you can just fast travel to it.

But wasn't there a way to lure an enemy towards you? Maybe in the skill
tree? Came in handy when fighting people in some places. Lure your
target into the bushes, go stabby, rinse and repeat. But that should
work for mounts as well? Plus I think there were skills to improve the
mount durability I think? Or a skill to fix damage to them?

Yeah, there's that one, it makes it a bit easier to get.

There's also one you can get eventually that you can call one if you
don't have one.

I was hoping to actually be able to use them in combat, but even if they
don't die immediately, you get knocked off

I would've liked to be able to use one of the bigger ones for a mount like
the sawtooth.

I agree the skill tree generally sucks pretty hard. I remember I didn't bother with a lot of skills since they were clearly useless but I guess
a completionist would grind the game long enough to have all the
skills...

The only things I really found useful were the damage ones. I did almost everything, but couldn't be bothered with the trials, even though it looked like they might've had better weapons as rewards. I think I ended the game with all but 2 skills.

- Justisaur

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)