* First Class Trouble
* GameDec Definitive Edition
* DKO: Divine Knock Out
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/divine-knockout
An online brawler using the 'deformed anime character' art style. Each
battle arena has its own gimmick or trick you can use to speed your
victory; characters are fantasy based. Not really my thing and reviews
aren't that positive; the core gameplay loop seems solid, but there
are complaints of rampant cheating, bugs, and limited variety. Still,
one of the major gripes is that it's not worth the usual $25 price,
but since it's free maybe it's worth a look?
Both these have additional free DLC, scroll down; GameDec has two
rms
On Thu, 12 Jan 2023 11:00:37 -0500, Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
* DKO: Divine Knock Out
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/divine-knockout
An online brawler using the 'deformed anime character' art style. Each >battle arena has its own gimmick or trick you can use to speed your >victory; characters are fantasy based. Not really my thing and reviews >aren't that positive; the core gameplay loop seems solid, but there
are complaints of rampant cheating, bugs, and limited variety. Still,
one of the major gripes is that it's not worth the usual $25 price,
but since it's free maybe it's worth a look?
Thank you for the post Spalls but this one is not free. It is simply
on sale for 33% off.
Oooh yeah. Free games. I been jonesin' for my next hit. Gimme some o'
dat stuff. Mmm, yeah. Tastes like an unopened wallet.
* First Class Trouble
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/first-class-trouble
Didn't we just get this game? Oh wait, no; that was on Amazon Prime.
Well, now we get it on Epic too. "First Class Trouble" is an
online-only mystery game, played in first-person, where you need to
solve various puzzles. Well, some of the players need to do that;
other players are secretly working for the AI that controls
everything. It's sort of like a cross between "The Ship" and "Among
Us". An interesting concept, but probably not the sort of thing
everybody will enjoy.
* GameDec Definitive Edition
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/gamedec
Hey, another mystery game. This time you're a PI solving crimes in cyberspace. It's more RPG than adventure, using a top-down isometric
view, except with more focus on puzzle-solving and dialogue than
combat. And crafting, of course. Can't have an RPG without crafting
these days. So basically, something like "Disco Elysium" in concept,
if not mechanics or setting. It sounds interesting, but reviews
indicate a general lack of polish with mechanics and programming. No
idea what makes this the 'definitive edition' and what that includes.
* DKO: Divine Knock Out
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/divine-knockout
An online brawler using the 'deformed anime character' art style. Each
battle arena has its own gimmick or trick you can use to speed your
victory; characters are fantasy based. Not really my thing and reviews
aren't that positive; the core gameplay loop seems solid, but there
are complaints of rampant cheating, bugs, and limited variety. Still,
one of the major gripes is that it's not worth the usual $25 price,
but since it's free maybe it's worth a look?
We're back to the regular 7-day schedule, so you have a week to decide
if either if these games are something you want in your library. Then
again, they're free, so why not?
Go to the site via the Epic Games launcher
and it WILL be $100 off (free)
* First Class Trouble
* GameDec Definitive Edition
Both these have additional free DLC, scroll down; GameDec has two
Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
* First Class Trouble
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/first-class-trouble
I played its Steam free weekend. I liked it except I need to communicate
via voice which I couldn't do due to my disability. :(
* GameDec Definitive Edition
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/gamedec
I took it due to its decent ratings.
* DKO: Divine Knock Out
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/divine-knockout
Not free. :(
Yep. Back to normal until December! ;)
On Thu, 12 Jan 2023 20:46:02 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
* First Class Trouble
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/first-class-trouble
I played its Steam free weekend. I liked it except I need to communicate >via voice which I couldn't do due to my disability. :(
You suffer from TooSexyVoice-itis too?
* GameDec Definitive Edition
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/gamedec
I took it due to its decent ratings.
It looks like an interesting game, but I recall a number of people in
this newsgroup weren't that found of "Disco Elysium", which also
received very favorable reviews. Mind you, "Disco" deserves those
reviews, but it's definitely not the sort of game everyone will like.
I suspect the same can be said for for GameDec.
* DKO: Divine Knock Out
https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/divine-knockout
Not free. :(
Sorry, linked to the "founders edition".
The "standard edition" is free https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/divine-knockout--standard
That's what I get for grabbing the links /before/ the games go free;
it's hard to tell which one is which until after ;-)
Yep. Back to normal until December! ;)
Epic /has/ been known to do one-offs throughout the year. So we might
get an early fix at some point. More free, free games to fill the
empty void in our souls ;-)
It looks like an interesting game, but I recall a number of people in
this newsgroup weren't that found of "Disco Elysium", which also
received very favorable reviews. Mind you, "Disco" deserves those
reviews, but it's definitely not the sort of game everyone will like.
I suspect the same can be said for for GameDec.
On 13/01/2023 02:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
Superficial they look the same but from my understanding of Gamedec
that's far as it goes as it's more about solving cases whereas in DE the
case is really just there as something to hang the protagonists story onto.
To put it simply quite a few negative reviews came from the game didn't
do what it was never intended to do. If someone doesn't like a lot of >reading* (and there's a lot) or effectively zero combat then it just
means that DE isn't the game for them not that it's a bad game. The flip
side was those that basically called anyone who didn't like the game thick.
On Fri, 13 Jan 2023 10:52:00 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
On 13/01/2023 02:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
Superficial they look the same but from my understanding of Gamedec
that's far as it goes as it's more about solving cases whereas in DE the
case is really just there as something to hang the protagonists story onto.
Actually, I put it more along the lines of "both are role-playing
games which largely eschew traditional combat and are far more
focussed on the characters and dialogue and story than stat-building".
To put it simply quite a few negative reviews came from the game didn't
do what it was never intended to do. If someone doesn't like a lot of
reading* (and there's a lot) or effectively zero combat then it just
means that DE isn't the game for them not that it's a bad game. The flip
side was those that basically called anyone who didn't like the game thick.
I was speaking specifically some of the responses in this newsgroup,
which indicated a dislike of "Disco" without going into much detail as
to why. Which is fair; "Disco" isn't a game for everyone. I can't
understand the deep fascination people have with shoot-em-ups or
brawlers either and so long as they don't insist those games are 'bestest-ever', neither will I do the same for the like of "Disco".
But knowing that some people might be turned of by games like "Disco",
I thought the warning was apt.
On 13/01/2023 17:11, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 13 Jan 2023 10:52:00 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
Sorry about that, I was referring to reviews in general and not this
group. Indeed I think the reviews here are what I'd like to see on Steam >where you see some truly shocking reviews.
As for bestest game ever, yep it's unfortunate the amount of people that >can't separate the subjective from the objective.
On Sat, 14 Jan 2023 11:34:21 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
On 13/01/2023 17:11, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 13 Jan 2023 10:52:00 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
Sorry about that, I was referring to reviews in general and not this
group. Indeed I think the reviews here are what I'd like to see on Steam
where you see some truly shocking reviews.
Well, not to toot my own horn... but a lot of my end-of-month
'reviews' here end up on Steam as well. ;-)
But while a lot of the reviews on Steam are awful (varying from
one-liners that proclaim "Sucks!" without explaining why, or
dog-whistle filled racist screeds (usually bitching about how the
developers are too 'woke'), there are some fairly good ones too. But Sturgeon's Law reminds us that 90% of everything is crap, so why
should we be surprised that applies to user reviews too? That said,
I'm not really sure Steam is the place for a proper review; I think a
quick five-line 'here's a summary of my overall impression of the
game' is a better fit for that medium
(and yes, I know that - according to my own standards - my reviews are terrible for Steam. I've come to accept that. I just can't do anything
about it. I don't think I could limit myself to five lines no matter
how hard I tried. Some regulars here /may/ have noticed this ;-)
As for bestest game ever, yep it's unfortunate the amount of people that
can't separate the subjective from the objective.
To be fair, that's been a problem for art since the first caveman put charcoal to stone. "Picasso sucks, his faces don't look real." "Homer
sucks, he goes on endlessly about lists of soldiers." "Debbie Does
Dallas sucks* because the cinematography is so primitive." "MS Flight Simulator sucks because I can't shoot down other players." People have expectations of what a work should be, and then are disappointed when
the actuality doesn't meet up with their assumptions.
And, in some degree, with video games those complaints are more valid.
Most art is fixed in place and time; it exists only as the artist
created it. Video games, however, are by nature interactive and have
the ability to react to player action and intent. A player jumping
into "Doom", then sneaking about trying to cap demons one-by-one and
from afar arguably has more justification when the simulation doesn't
react realistically to his stealthy approach. Games are interactive
art that take from both the creator and the artist, and its more understandable to that the disappointment if the player's effort (even
if that 'effort' is just an expectation of what sort of game it is) is ignored should result in a negative review.
(Although, you know, maybe educate yerself about the game before you
play it. ;-)
So I'm not totally disdainful of those sorts of misunderstandings. I
don't hold them in very high value - if the player has put so little
effort as to understand the sort of game he's in, he's likely put as
little effort into his review - but I can understand why people
sometimes react like that. When I give my impressions, I try to
distinguish games I 'get' versus those that are outside my usual
bailiwick, and do my best to judge each accordingly. But I probably
have benefit from playing so many games that I can more easily
recognize the difference between the two. At least I hope I do...
(Wow, I've gone and done a ramble here, haven't I?)
* literally!
On 14/01/2023 17:25, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Sat, 14 Jan 2023 11:34:21 +0000, JAB <no...@nochance.com> wrote:
On 13/01/2023 17:11, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 13 Jan 2023 10:52:00 +0000, JAB <no...@nochance.com> wrote:
Sorry about that, I was referring to reviews in general and not this
group. Indeed I think the reviews here are what I'd like to see on Steam >> where you see some truly shocking reviews.
Well, not to toot my own horn... but a lot of my end-of-month
'reviews' here end up on Steam as well. ;-)
But while a lot of the reviews on Steam are awful (varying from
one-liners that proclaim "Sucks!" without explaining why, or
dog-whistle filled racist screeds (usually bitching about how the developers are too 'woke'), there are some fairly good ones too. But Sturgeon's Law reminds us that 90% of everything is crap, so why
should we be surprised that applies to user reviews too? That said,
I'm not really sure Steam is the place for a proper review; I think a
quick five-line 'here's a summary of my overall impression of the
game' is a better fit for that medium
(and yes, I know that - according to my own standards - my reviews are terrible for Steam. I've come to accept that. I just can't do anything about it. I don't think I could limit myself to five lines no matter
how hard I tried. Some regulars here /may/ have noticed this ;-)
I don't mind longer reviews on Steam as long as the author understands
how to structure a 'proper' review at least vaguely. I'd probably go as
far to say that if a game has a lot of longer reviews then anecdotally
it's going to be a game I'll probably like.
As for very short summary style reviews, I don't have a problem with
them either as long as they are positive. The reasoning for that is if
you like a game but think you can't add to the reviews already made, or
just aren't that good at writing them, then why not give a positive to
the overall rating.
On the other hand if you're going to give a negative review* then at
least explain what you don't like so that others can see if your
criticism is valid.
On Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 3:41:30 AM UTC-8, JAB wrote:
On 14/01/2023 17:25, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Sat, 14 Jan 2023 11:34:21 +0000, JAB <no...@nochance.com> wrote:I don't mind longer reviews on Steam as long as the author understands
On 13/01/2023 17:11, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Fri, 13 Jan 2023 10:52:00 +0000, JAB <no...@nochance.com> wrote:
Sorry about that, I was referring to reviews in general and not this
group. Indeed I think the reviews here are what I'd like to see on Steam >>>> where you see some truly shocking reviews.
Well, not to toot my own horn... but a lot of my end-of-month
'reviews' here end up on Steam as well. ;-)
But while a lot of the reviews on Steam are awful (varying from
one-liners that proclaim "Sucks!" without explaining why, or
dog-whistle filled racist screeds (usually bitching about how the
developers are too 'woke'), there are some fairly good ones too. But
Sturgeon's Law reminds us that 90% of everything is crap, so why
should we be surprised that applies to user reviews too? That said,
I'm not really sure Steam is the place for a proper review; I think a
quick five-line 'here's a summary of my overall impression of the
game' is a better fit for that medium
(and yes, I know that - according to my own standards - my reviews are
terrible for Steam. I've come to accept that. I just can't do anything
about it. I don't think I could limit myself to five lines no matter
how hard I tried. Some regulars here /may/ have noticed this ;-)
how to structure a 'proper' review at least vaguely. I'd probably go as
far to say that if a game has a lot of longer reviews then anecdotally
it's going to be a game I'll probably like.
As for very short summary style reviews, I don't have a problem with
them either as long as they are positive. The reasoning for that is if
you like a game but think you can't add to the reviews already made, or
just aren't that good at writing them, then why not give a positive to
the overall rating.
I generally don't read the positive reviews, I find them useful, but only
in aggregate for the % of positive reviews.
I have a hard time myself deciding if a review I write should be
positive or not, so generally I don't review on steam. If they
had a 'maybe recommended' I'd go with that for most games.
The only positive reviews I tend to look at are ones with lists
of pros/cons or preface it with 'I'm not sure if I should recommend
this,' or something along those lines.
On the other hand if you're going to give a negative review* then atleast explain what you don't like so that others can see if your
criticism is valid.
I tend to look at negative reviews a lot more because I'm interested
in what the problems and downsides of a game are before buying.
I find the opposite here, just stating *sucks doesn't help or influence
me at all.
I have a hard time myself deciding if a review I write should be
positive or not, so generally I don't review on steam. If they
had a 'maybe recommended' I'd go with that for most games.
On Tue, 17 Jan 2023 07:50:27 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
<just...@gmail.com> wrote:
I have a hard time myself deciding if a review I write should beMay I go on record on saying how much I absolutely /detest/ Steam's
positive or not, so generally I don't review on steam. If they
had a 'maybe recommended' I'd go with that for most games.
limited thumbs up/thumbs down recommendation system?
I absolutely understand why Valve uses it, of course; people are - by
and large - less likely to "not recommend" a game than they are to
either "recommend" it or just not leave a comment entirely. A
multi-tiered rating system would result in more negative
recommendations in the form of 1 or 2 star reviews*. And since Valve
is in the business of selling games - even the crappy ones - its not
in their interest to make it too easy for customers to 'downvote'
games. So the limited options Steam provides is them intentionally
gaming the system.
Then again, even a five-star (or ten-star, or percentage value, or
American school grades A-F**, or whatever) remains an extremely
imprecise system. Especially since - for reasons I've never understood
- giving an average product a 50% score is seen as bad. No, that just
means it doesn't do anything egregiously wrong or right. It's
run-of-the-mill store-brand merchandise. But average products tend to
get scores 4 stars, It's baffling.
Better would be a multi-category grading score: e.g., 0-5 for
graphics, 0-5 for story, 0-5 for audio, 0-5 for mechanics, 0-5 for
stability, 0-5 for general suitability, etc. THEN maybe couple that
with an overall score. In some sense, this is what Epic's Game Store
does (except, of course, they only allow positive scores for each
category, don't let you rate more than one category at a time, and
don't allow any explanatory text... because God forbid people actually
have the ability to express themselves in any meaningful way).
But, really, by the time you implement a proper multi-category
score-system, you might as well just write out your throughts anyway.
On Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 8:21:38 AM UTC-8, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Tue, 17 Jan 2023 07:50:27 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
<just...@gmail.com> wrote:
It's IMDB vs. Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately the stars method seems
to be nearly useless, as all but the absolute best and worst movies
hover around 4.7 stars giving you very little to go on for an actual
score.
Rotten Tomatoes gives you a much more intuitive % and it's based
on only positive/negative
On Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 8:21:38 AM UTC-8, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Tue, 17 Jan 2023 07:50:27 -0800 (PST), Justisaur
<just...@gmail.com> wrote:
I have a hard time myself deciding if a review I write should beMay I go on record on saying how much I absolutely /detest/ Steam's
positive or not, so generally I don't review on steam. If they
had a 'maybe recommended' I'd go with that for most games.
limited thumbs up/thumbs down recommendation system?
I absolutely understand why Valve uses it, of course; people are - by
and large - less likely to "not recommend" a game than they are to
either "recommend" it or just not leave a comment entirely. A
multi-tiered rating system would result in more negative
recommendations in the form of 1 or 2 star reviews*. And since Valve
is in the business of selling games - even the crappy ones - its not
in their interest to make it too easy for customers to 'downvote'
games. So the limited options Steam provides is them intentionally
gaming the system.
Then again, even a five-star (or ten-star, or percentage value, or
American school grades A-F**, or whatever) remains an extremely
imprecise system. Especially since - for reasons I've never understood
- giving an average product a 50% score is seen as bad. No, that just
means it doesn't do anything egregiously wrong or right. It's
run-of-the-mill store-brand merchandise. But average products tend to
get scores 4 stars, It's baffling.
Better would be a multi-category grading score: e.g., 0-5 for
graphics, 0-5 for story, 0-5 for audio, 0-5 for mechanics, 0-5 for
stability, 0-5 for general suitability, etc. THEN maybe couple that
with an overall score. In some sense, this is what Epic's Game Store
does (except, of course, they only allow positive scores for each
category, don't let you rate more than one category at a time, and
don't allow any explanatory text... because God forbid people actually
have the ability to express themselves in any meaningful way).
But, really, by the time you implement a proper multi-category
score-system, you might as well just write out your throughts anyway.
It's IMDB vs. Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately the stars method seems
to be nearly useless, as all but the absolute best and worst movies
hover around 4.7 stars giving you very little to go on for an actual
score.
Rotten Tomatoes gives you a much more intuitive % and it's based
on only positive/negative
however you do have a couple things that are generally worse with RT
than Steam, as RT gives you a binary rotten/fresh where steam has
categories (mostly positive/overwhelmingly positive.) Also RT puts
their critic scores as their score which are also about useless, (though critic reviews on games are even less useful as they're generally
bought and paid for) you have to look at the general public score.
Even that can be review bombed, and Steam does a better job there
currently.
Amazon also uses the star system, and it's about as useless as it's
filled with fake reviews, and a couple times I've been offered bribes
to change reviews from 3 stars.
So frankly Steam has the best review aggregate score of anything
I use. The in depth reviews are a little harder to get to anything
useful though.
In depth reviews, here's the best place :)
- Justisaur
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