OT: Video Game Computers/Gadgets/Gizmos Thread

[Ryan5UW]

I got a good shooter game for you and it is called Galaga. Respect the classics, you cowards.

Yes! One of my two or three favorite Atari games as a kid.

[Sauce Boss]

Anyone into the Total War games? I saw the Warhammer 3 announcement and it reminded me that I have the first game and never played it. I keep looking around for concise tips on playing, but most guides I find are like 45min YouTube videos that I don’t have the patience for.

[MikeIsGood]

Anyone into the Total War games? I saw the Warhammer 3 announcement and it reminded me that I have the first game and never played it. I keep looking around for concise tips on playing, but most guides I find are like 45min YouTube videos that I don’t have the patience for.

I've always wanted to try them out - specifically the Warhammer ones, as it seems to be a universe I'm more interested in (fantasy) - but like you I've never taken the time to figure it out and play. Honestly, PoE can be such a slog to keep up with that I don't feel like I have much time for any other hyper-complex, systems-heavy game. It's the same reason I haven't ever played Crusader Kings.

[Ron Swanson]

Whelp, finally finished FF7 Remake and oh boi…..

Spoiler:

While I really loved the final boss fight, over-saturated fan service really botched the entire end of the Midgar arc. Disappointed that they went this direction narrative wise, but still excited to see how they create the rest of the world in subsequent games (Wutai, Gold Saucer, etc.)

[Siefer]

Whelp, finally finished FF7 Remake and oh boi…..

Spoiler:

While I really loved the final boss fight, over-saturated fan service really botched the entire end of the Midgar arc. Disappointed that they went this direction narrative wise, but still excited to see how they create the rest of the world in subsequent games (Wutai, Gold Saucer, etc.)

Spoiler:

There was less overall fan-service than I was expecting going in, not that it was absent entirely. The last act read as a direct act of subversion to me, and the referenced material was there to be dismantled, not just for reference sake. Not ever aspect of it worked for me (I've yet to truly enjoy a voiced Sephiroth), but I'm pretty stoked that they took the swing they did instead of just treading the same ground as the original. This thing is a secret sequel, which is wild.

[Ron Swanson]

Whelp, finally finished FF7 Remake and oh boi…..

Spoiler:

While I really loved the final boss fight, over-saturated fan service really botched the entire end of the Midgar arc. Disappointed that they went this direction narrative wise, but still excited to see how they create the rest of the world in subsequent games (Wutai, Gold Saucer, etc.)

Spoiler:

There was less overall fan-service than I was expecting going in, not that it was absent entirely. The last act read as a direct act of subversion to me, and the referenced material was there to be dismantled, not just for reference sake. Not ever aspect of it worked for me (I've yet to truly enjoy a voiced Sephiroth), but I'm pretty stoked that they took the swing they did instead of just treading the same ground as the original. This thing is a secret sequel, which is wild.

Spoiler:

I mostly agree with this. I'm not one of those purists who think it should have been a shot-for-shot remake, and outside of some tedious fetch quests, they really did a good job of injecting modern concepts into a 20+ year old game (the combat did grow on me).

Blowing their load on the Sephiroth storyline so early is my biggest gripe, and the mostly CG cutscene fight at the end just seems like fanfiction written by a 15-year old me instead of something that actually adds to the story. The Midgar arc was all about setting up Shinra as the ultimate villains. Sephiroth was this mysterious, unseen force that was best held off being a main character until Cloud's flashbacks did him justice.

And don't get me wrong, I like foreshadowing if done right, but they damn near spoiled every major plot point and reveal throughout the entire game. There just seemed to be too many story elements that they altered for purely nostalgia purposes. It actually feels like a game that's only for us die-hards. Which is why I think it kinda misses the mark and charm of the original. I'm probably ranting at this point and being overly negative. It's a great game on its own, but it's just really tough to reimagine a classic that's so beloved without going off the rails and taking some risks, but that's the danger of putting the word "remake" in the title.

[Siefer]

Spoiler:

I mostly agree with this. I'm not one of those purists who think it should have been a shot-for-shot remake, and outside of some tedious fetch quests, they really did a good job of injecting modern concepts into a 20+ year old game (the combat did grow on me).

Blowing their load on the Sephiroth storyline so early is my biggest gripe, and the mostly CG cutscene fight at the end just seems like fanfiction written by a 15-year old me instead of something that actually adds to the story. The Midgar arc was all about setting up Shinra as the ultimate villains. Sephiroth was this mysterious, unseen force that was best held off being a main character until Cloud's flashbacks did him justice.

And don't get me wrong, I like foreshadowing if done right, but they damn near spoiled every major plot point and reveal throughout the entire game. There just seemed to be too many story elements that they altered for purely nostalgia purposes. It actually feels like a game that's only for us die-hards. Which is why I think it kinda misses the mark and charm of the original. I'm probably ranting at this point and being overly negative. It's a great game on its own, but it's just really tough to reimagine a classic that's so beloved without going off the rails and taking some risks, but that's the danger of putting the word "remake" in the title.

Spoiler:

I think you're right that this game assumes you know FF7 well enough to be swerved in the first place. There's a lot of institutional knowledge this game just takes as a given in order to get to where it wants to go. That ended up working well for me, but I've heard more than one first-timer express confusion. The Sephiroth stuff had to change to go down this road, imo, but yeah, it can't match the original in terms of intrigue and suspense. It's also a shame to lose what is the best sequence in the OG, which was the straight-up horror of the Shinra building escape.

[Sauce Boss]

Anyone into the Total War games? I saw the Warhammer 3 announcement and it reminded me that I have the first game and never played it. I keep looking around for concise tips on playing, but most guides I find are like 45min YouTube videos that I don’t have the patience for.

I've always wanted to try them out - specifically the Warhammer ones, as it seems to be a universe I'm more interested in (fantasy) - but like you I've never taken the time to figure it out and play. Honestly, PoE can be such a slog to keep up with that I don't feel like I have much time for any other hyper-complex, systems-heavy game. It's the same reason I haven't ever played Crusader Kings.

Definitely hard to keep up with a live service game and play a handful of other games that demand a similar amount of dedication. I finished Ori and have some bandwidth so I’m checking it out a bit. I’m sure my Apex itch with be back shortly or I’ll feel guilty I haven’t finished something in my backlog like Cyberpunk or Dark Souls and move on to one of those.

[tydett]

Slavishly giving my vidya game time to daily log in rewards for MtGArena, Genshin Impact, and WoW, and what little time I find outside of those is given right now to Monster Train. Pretty good deck builder akin to a Slay the Spire. XBox Gamepass has gone from a nice option to a really good way to access games.

[ReasonablySober]

Read on Twitter

This one could be alright. JLC could play insane.

[WRau1]

How do you guys feel about laptop coolers? I remember reading that the only actual good they do is lift the laptop off a surface so that the laptop can do its own cooling in an open space. Then there was a surge in the idea of coolers that are actually exhaust pads with air filters, those were supposed to make a difference. Anyone ever look deeper into that or use any they like?

[MikeIsGood]

How do you guys feel about laptop coolers? I remember reading that the only actual good they do is lift the laptop off a surface so that the laptop can do its own cooling in an open space. Then there was a surge in the idea of coolers that are actually exhaust pads with air filters, those were supposed to make a difference. Anyone ever look deeper into that or use any they like?

I'm not sure if this is an actual cooler or not, but I have one of these and use it with my laptop when it's literally on my lap.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B014F4SBMK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I do find that it helps with air circulation, as it gets it off my lap and provides some ventilation underneath. I'm not sure how much the fans actually help and haven't measured performance with them on/off, but they're there I guess.

[Siefer]

Probably ~30 hours left on my P5R playthrough, and then onto Strikers. Lord of mercy, I have things I need to be doing.

[MikeIsGood]

Probably ~30 hours left on my P5R playthrough, and then onto Strikers. Lord of mercy, I have things I need to be doing.

Getting some real good reviews, I'm excited

[Sauce Boss]

Just wish they did a port of Persona 5 to Switch instead of Strikers. I want to know what the hype’s about.

[WRau1]

Biomutant looks fun.

[Lippo]

Anyone play baldurs gate 3, worth a look?

[MikeIsGood]

Biomutant looks fun.

Agreed. And I love that THQ went dark for an entire year to allow the devs ample time to address bugs without any pressure or press on the game at all.

[jschligs]

Anyone play baldurs gate 3, worth a look?

As someone completely new to that style of game I really enjoyed it. Got about 15 hours in (half solo, half with friends) and then my baby was born so I stopped. They also released a patch that wiped out previous game saves maki by it hard to go back and jump in. I want to give it a go again soon, I really liked it.

[WRau1]

Anyone play baldurs gate 3, worth a look?

I played it on Stadia so it was a bit more buggy than the PC version (issues with controller support, I'm told) but I had a blast. It's one of my favorite series of all time so I'll probably jump back into it once I clear a few more games.