shinymcshine

Football Manager (ZX Spectrum)

The idea of taking a football management game and adding game highlight graphics way back in 1982 was so revolutionary.

I remember sitting compelled to the screen, just like you do watching live sport, as the chances came, goals went in etc.

So whilst it's no looker, in terms of artistic merit, the use of graphical representation of 'live' events is hugely notable in terms of video game history.

Despite being in Nag's list above, I hadn't realised Solasta was leaving Gamepass - until it wouldn't load up this morning.

So £27.50 later I'm playing it again.

Don't they give you any targeted notifications - based on your current/past play history - when a game is leaving ? I noticed that Tainted Grail (which I'd played a few months back - has now gone too).

Finished the second main quest (at the Dark Castle) and it was really enjoyable.

Great floor switch puzzle (where clues were in books you found & read) and some combat avoidance through successful influence / negotiation checks too.

Really good, nice writing, all held together well.

Onwards !

** HELP **

A guy at work asked my advice on buying a console for his 13 yr old lad, so since he has no idea of gaming, and neither does his son (in terms of no pressing desire for PS5) - I suggested he got a Xbox Series S and Gamepass.

So he got one, set up an adult account and one for his lad - but now says when his lad wants to play Fortnite it comes up asking for a log-on (and either of his 2x email addresses for Xbox accounts aren't recognised).

Is this maybe because it's asking for a (insert publisher here - Epic?) account that he'd need to also create ?!?!

It's not a game I play but sounds plausible, does it ?

They've added a game mechanics in the town area where you can gift your finds to one of five or so different factions to try to curry their favour (with the promised of unlockables once you're at a certain level).

It'll be interesting to see how that one pans out.

On the flip side - can anyone recommend a basic simple to use TV (32") as my mum's 12 yr old CRT TV has just packed up ?

Just need something really basic, with a big button remote, as she only watches live TV via Freeview - so loads of menus & features will just confuse the heck out of her

*Update*

So the extended warranty insurance that she has been paying, £8/mth for about 12 yrs (told her years ago to cancel it and just save £8/mth herself) has 'generously' offered to give her a brand new replacement TV......... can't wait to see what they give her (but guessing some low end budget set - but it'll probably suit her needs).

The Muppets Haunted Mansion (2021,D+)

It runs mainly with Gonzo and Pepe the Prawn as lead protagonists, has a few, odd, songs in it, and fortunately just runs for 50 minutes.

It was as bang average as it could be (like a 5/10 average, not a BS 7/10).

Whilst the Dark Souls games have some horror theming - it's more about that heart pumping fear / adrenaline rush of taking on the boss fights, with the frustration/ euphoria that comes with defeat / success.

Well it's certainly that way for me.

Finished the remaining episodes of Fall of the House of Usher.

Overall it was pretty entertaining, but lacked any real horror / scares or even twists - the most engaging parts were the interview scenes between Auguste & Frederick - but it wrapped up nicely and had numerous nods to Poe's other works.

Against a backdrop of 8, 9 and 10s then Gamecentral comes along with a 6.

https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/26/alan-wake-2-review-go-back-to-sleep-19720842/

Solasta: Crown of the Magister (Series S, Gamepass).

Maybe about 5 hrs in and since I'm going to be sticking with this thought I'd do a brief summary.

Its a turn based CRPG using the 5th Ed D&D ruleset (via WotC open licence system) which means all the mechanics are there, but none of the polish that you'd expect if it were an official licensed release.

Hence the gameplay is pretty solid - explore, solve puzzles, travel, fight, trade, craft etc but the presentation screens and especially the cut scenes, whilst functional, feel at times reminiscent of something from the late PS2 era.

It's a good bunch of fun though, and there's some dev tools in there to create additional content - so in that way it's not too dissimilar to the aspirations of the ill fated "Sword Coast Legends" (PS4)* - but hopefully this one will stick around for a bit longer.

* SCL (2015) felt a lot like Neverwinter Nights, and presented a series of shortish scenarios, but focussed around being a DM tool to create CRPGs. The PS4 version was stripped back, but the scenarios themselves were still good to play though. Unfortunately it got delisted from sale at the end of 2017, and online servers shut down shortly after. I'd bought and downloaded it prior to that & can still play the offline content.

Just started "Solasta: Crown of the Magister" (Series S, Gamepass).

A turn based strategy using D&D rules, but I think it's more in the FF Tactics/Disgaea battle screen genre than a full on RPG.

I'll give it a few hours, and see how it sticks, and if I continue I'll pop a post in the Games section.

All done - there were some parts that were great, the challenges towards the end not so great - and I suppose we will never see the "to be continued" - but it was a good change of pace for me coming off the back of 100+ hrs of Pathfinder WotR.

Boobs!

I've been enjoying this - but I've now hit a section that feels like filler - a bunch of challenge screens that have nothing particular to do with any story flow (get 50 combos, stay in the air for 8 seconds etc).

Suppose I must be reaching towards the end though.

Fall of the House of Usher (Netflix)

Latest horror series from Mike Flanagan - a modern retelling of some of Poe's best known stories, weaved into the demise of the family Usher and backdrop of courtroom drama / interview of the main protagonist.

I'm 3 episodes in (from 8 ) and pretty enjoyable although the stories so far have been quite predictable (if knowing the source material - and their likely outcome).

Taylor Swift Eras Tour

Yep I know it's a bit niche, and you'll probably all mock me for it, but saw it at the Vue Cribbs Causeway Bristol today.

They'd really pumped up the volume (almost to concert level) and there was a bunch of people dancing down at the front - and I absolutely loved it  !

Roll on next year's concerts.

The benefit I've got (sort of) is that I didn't play the GoW games (aside from a short session on the remastered ones before deciding that I wasn't keep on the button mashing combat) but this seems okay so far.

Started this (via Game Pass) and it's pretty mindless 'fun' (& it's not something I've played before).

Was a bit dubious whether to ressurect this thread (from 2010/11) but it's probably worth it more to read @DANGERMAN opening post than for whatever I'm likely to post here.

Hope I've not made a boob.

If I've played something for >10 hrs then I'll generally finish it to credits (unless there's some horrendous difficulty spike or game crashing bug) - but, esp. with PS+ & Gamepass, then I will try things which might be outside my preferred genres, and sometimes they get binned off early.

I'm pretty surprised, based on % achievements/trophies, when I get the one for basic game completion, to see <10% have gotten it - think Pathfinder:WotR (PS4) was at 7% - and whilst I recognise that it's a time sink - there's loads of adjustable difficulty options (if needed) to ease you to the conclusion.

To quote Charlie Brooker "It was like watching a dog trying to fly a helicopter....".

Coming Soon:

Julian Simpson's fourth Lovecraft inspired series comes to BBC Radio Four from 30 Oct 23 !

You can listen to the other three "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward", "The Whisperer in Darkness" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" on BBC Sounds, collected under the broader header "The Lovecraft Investigations".

I like the way Simpson mixes the Lovecraft elements with other folklore and his own Pleasant Green setting all in a modern environment.

The Haunter of the Dark

On 04/10/2021 at 10:28, Whiskey_chaser said:

I think one of my issues with the game was the learning curve, maybe I missed it but the game hardly seemed to explain anything. Might have to go back to it and follow your advice there.

I've tried this for a couple of hours and even something as basic as turning on the headlights in the dark meant a Google search. Then I went onto Alaska, but couldn't work out how on earth to actually trigger a move, via garage, back to Michigan.

Wouldn't be so bad if the vehicles felt like they had some weight to them, but even on the intro level on flat roads it feels like Bambi on ice.

It's a hard pass from me.

I'd definitely do Kingmaker.

I couldn't see any pull across between the two games in terms of characters / parties - and in Kingmaker, for the strategic map elements, you do Kingdom Management events (not too dissimilar to the 'War table' in DAO 3) rather than Crusades in Wrath.

Wrath is definitely more "epic" in terms of the scale / wider story - but I wouldn't necessarily say it's any better (or worse) for it, just distinctly different (maybe like how PoE is thematically very different than PoE Deadfire (although in that case I actually preferred the latter).

First time I've had a message, when trying to play a game via the cloud that:

"We're very busy, you're in a queue and should connect in 15 mins".

Which is fair enough I guess, so thought I'd download Snowrunner instead - esp. as it showed a point just a quarter way into the install bar saying "You can play now".

Apart from I couldn't - as it doesn't actually let you start the main campaign game from that point.......

Host (2020)

Made for Shudder, but it's on iPlayer - runtime 55 mins.

Pretty decent film, made during lockdown, where some friends get together for an online seance via Zoom, and, well things go on from there.

It was pretty good all up, esp. noting the constraints they had in making it - well worth a watch (but probably doesn't really do anything (overall) that you wouldn't expect - but had you watched it in 2020 might have put you off online meetings a little).