Geeks, Nerds, Enthusiasts...share your thoughts with me!

[Hodes101]

Good game mix. Especially approve of Civ6. I've loved Civ since the original. It's probably one of the reasons I became a gamer.

I still remember getting it for Christmas, installing it after Xmas dinner. Next thing I remember is my mum coming into the room and telling me to get to bed, it was 3AM!

I use to play FPS to death, but find the most recent ones too twitch mouse heavy or Arcady (looking at you Doom with your gimicy guns).

Nowadays I'm a back to Strategy and RTSs.

I really want a game to get the atmosphere of the original Medal of Honour. That game was epic.

 

[HoneyMeadows]

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is the best anime since Cowboy Bebop and it is not even close. Along with Castlevania is pretty much the best gaming adaptation I've seen.

As for things to play. Shame or not, I am kind of really looking forward to Overwatch 2. Which shouldn't be even called 2 but greedy game company owners have yachts to buy.

Btw, this year I finished The Wheel of Time (only Jordan's books, I am yet to start the final 3, which were written by Sanderson). And if the first 2 books are budget Lord of the Rings, after that this becomes quite the enjoyable and epic read truly deserving of its legendary status. Those things are massive, the characters memorable and their development is nothing short of masterful. Where it breaks is the fact the text tends to be basic at times but in each book there are chapters where Jordan is really inspired and you can tell.

I hope to finish all books by 2030 and will probably end up cramming the last 5 in at the last minute

 

[Klqka]

I hope to finish all books by 2030 and will probably end up cramming the last 5 in at the last minute

To be honest, if it really grabs you, it is not a chore. Rand is such a good character study of the typical savior of the world archetype but done in what Jordan believed to be a realistic way (sans the magic and bs like this). He is, at least to me, top 5 fantasy protagonists by a country mile. There is so much depth and quality development there. And adding all the main cast, especially Matrim (by far the most consistently good writing by Jordan is when he is dealing with his shenanigans) and Nynaeve, you get a lot of different stories within one massive narrative. Elayne is equally as awesome. And adding the literal hundreds of supporting characters, a lot of whom are so distinct and memorable, there is a lot to love here.

And when the epic stuff hits... IT HITS. The sixth book is famous for its final battle scene. And the last book Jordan wrote - Knife of Dreams is nonstop epic storytelling. It is the rare epic fantasy to balance so many battles and characters. Everything is allowed to breathe and to conclude in a satisfying way. It is exceptional.

But it is a series that is known to also bore people and make it feel like a chore... so yeah.

Also, for the forum, the spectacular amount of nudity is chef's kiss.

 

[cheekygirl75]

I made the mistake of going through a subscription I have...and now I have a further 5 games to add to my playlist....

I'm committed to The Wheel of Time, so any series longer than 3 books isn't really going to get much attention from me at the moment.

Are there any good stand alone novels that you would recommend?

Has anyone heard of Guy Gavriel Kay? He does historical fantasy. My favorites are the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy and Tigana (stand alone). Though they do make me seriously cry at parts.

Did anyone else like Legend of the Seeker? I think about that show far too much.

Is that the movie or tv show? The movie (might just be the Seeker) is based on the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper, a great series. From the 70s sometime, I think. It’s geared more towards young adults, but still great story telling, I think.

 

[Ingenue844]

Has anyone heard of Guy Gavriel Kay? He does historical fantasy. My favorites are the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy and Tigana (stand alone). Though they do make me seriously cry at parts.



Is that the movie or tv show? The movie (might just be the Seeker) is based on the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper, a great series. From the 70s sometime, I think. It’s geared more towards young adults, but still great story telling, I think.

It’s a tv show adapted from the Terry Goodkind book series but probably a lot of the same themes as other Fantasy.

 

[Ingenue844]

https://imgur.com/jBZbtq6

First crush

 

[Mr_Soup]

I'm finding the opposite and having to come to terms with the fact that I won't be able to experience everything I want to.

Do you mind sharing an example of something that has lost it's allure for you?

I think the two biggest examples for me would be Resident Evil and Final Fantasy.

I'm a huge fan of horror movies. When Resident Evil first came out, it was game that spoke directly to me. It encompassed two of my favorite things (horror movies and video games). It was creepy, tense, full of intrigue and above all else: fun. There wasn't many games like that at the time, other than a few point and click adventure games like Alone In The Dark and Clocktower. It went on to spawn others of its kind that I enjoyed like Silent Hill.

But as the series went along, it started to loose that creepy atmosphere and intrigue. It started focusing more on the action side of things. Resident Evil 4 being the turning point. That's when we started seeing silly things like characters performing suplexes and enemies that were primitive dropping things they should have no business dropping like bullets and grenades. The story also got completely off the rails and introduced silly antagonists like Ramon Salazar. The series' atmosphere and immersion were gone.

And it only got worse from there. Resident Evil 5 had Chris punching boulders. Resident Evil 6 lost all semblance of the horror aspects of the series. Then the series tries to reinvent itself with Resident Evil 7 by becoming a first person horror game, which I appreciated, but it still had nothing to do with "Resident Evil" as a franchise. Resident Evil 8 followed where 7 left off.

The series has been in a perpetual state of identity crisis to where it doesn't even know what it is suppose to be anymore. What was once a grounded in reality horror game about a zombie virus outbreak is now an over-the-top half action, half horror game with supernatural elements.

Final Fantasy is similar in that it has a major identity crisis. What was once a turn based JRPG has bounced from everything from MMO's to, now, action RPGs. Each new entry had it's own world, characters, and story, sure. But it also had things that were standard that, now, are no longer standard. But I think the biggest offense with regard with this series was Final Fantasy 15 where you had to seek out sources outside of the game itself to get the whole story - like having to watch Kingsglaive. That's not cool. It would seem that the next game, Final Fantasy 16, is going all in on the action RPG genre by having only a single playable character.

So I guess, in short, they are two series that in the beginning felt tailor made for me personally that no longer do. I know it kind of sounds like an "old man shouting at clouds" stance, but there are still a few series - ones older than these two even - that are still going strong.

 

[Mr_Soup]

It's been pointed out that I've not really spoken about games since the first post, so here goes:

I have too many games

Currently actively playing:
Stardew Valley
The Sims 4
Disney's Dreamlight Valley
Terraria
Civilization 6

I pick the game depending on my energy levels as I've been struggling with exhaustion these last few...months now.

I have started, so I will finish at some point, probably:
The Witcher
A Plague Tale
My Time at Portia
Nobody Saves the World
....

There are too many to remember but these are what I can remember, so will start with these I guess

Since you like Stardew Valley, I highly recommend Rune Factory 4. It's basically the same as Stardew Valley in which you manage a farm, speak with villagers with their own personalities, side activities like fishing, but it also has an action RPG element in which you're fighting and taming monsters, collecting materials for crafting, and building up and improving the town. It's amazing. It was my biggest pastime during the Covid lockdowns.

 

[HeavyBalls]

Who is the best Mass Effect Squadmate, and why did you correctly choose Garrus Vakarian?

 

[Mr_Soup]

Who is the best Mass Effect Squadmate, and why did you correctly choose Garrus Vakarian?

Garrus, because he calibrates.

 

[SherlockianMan]

My latest nerd obsession is collecting tattoos for all the various genres I nerd over. I have a movie inspired, a couple comi ones, a TV show, a broadway musical one, a video game, and an anime inspired one. Getting a manga panel in the near future. Missing book and board game.

 

[HoneyMeadows]

To be honest, if it really grabs you, it is not a chore.

It's not really about it grabbing me but me having enough energy and being in the right headspace to read.

 

[HoneyMeadows]

Has anyone heard of Guy Gavriel Kay? He does historical fantasy. My favorites are the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy and Tigana (stand alone). Though they do make me seriously cry at parts.

I've not heard but will investigate, thank you for the recommendation

 

[HoneyMeadows]

I think the two biggest examples for me would be Resident Evil and Final Fantasy.

I'm a huge fan of horror movies. When Resident Evil first came out, it was game that spoke directly to me. It encompassed two of my favorite things (horror movies and video games). It was creepy, tense, full of intrigue and above all else: fun. There wasn't many games like that at the time, other than a few point and click adventure games like Alone In The Dark and Clocktower. It went on to spawn others of its kind that I enjoyed like Silent Hill.

But as the series went along, it started to loose that creepy atmosphere and intrigue. It started focusing more on the action side of things. Resident Evil 4 being the turning point. That's when we started seeing silly things like characters performing suplexes and enemies that were primitive dropping things they should have no business dropping like bullets and grenades. The story also got completely off the rails and introduced silly antagonists like Ramon Salazar. The series' atmosphere and immersion were gone.

And it only got worse from there. Resident Evil 5 had Chris punching boulders. Resident Evil 6 lost all semblance of the horror aspects of the series. Then the series tries to reinvent itself with Resident Evil 7 by becoming a first person horror game, which I appreciated, but it still had nothing to do with "Resident Evil" as a franchise. Resident Evil 8 followed where 7 left off.

The series has been in a perpetual state of identity crisis to where it doesn't even know what it is suppose to be anymore. What was once a grounded in reality horror game about a zombie virus outbreak is now an over-the-top half action, half horror game with supernatural elements.

Final Fantasy is similar in that it has a major identity crisis. What was once a turn based JRPG has bounced from everything from MMO's to, now, action RPGs. Each new entry had it's own world, characters, and story, sure. But it also had things that were standard that, now, are no longer standard. But I think the biggest offense with regard with this series was Final Fantasy 15 where you had to seek out sources outside of the game itself to get the whole story - like having to watch Kingsglaive. That's not cool. It would seem that the next game, Final Fantasy 16, is going all in on the action RPG genre by having only a single playable character.

So I guess, in short, they are two series that in the beginning felt tailor made for me personally that no longer do. I know it kind of sounds like an "old man shouting at clouds" stance, but there are still a few series - ones older than these two even - that are still going strong.

Thank you for sharing

I've not played any of those games, except a bit of FFXIV, but I've seen some of RE8 and it seems to be about the jump scares. No thanks

In FFXIV I'm down the crafting rabbit hole as it's extremely satisfying, but it seems to be a good MMO.

 

[HoneyMeadows]

Since you like Stardew Valley, I highly recommend Rune Factory 4. It's basically the same as Stardew Valley in which you manage a farm, speak with villagers with their own personalities, side activities like fishing, but it also has an action RPG element in which you're fighting and taming monsters, collecting materials for crafting, and building up and improving the town. It's amazing. It was my biggest pastime during the Covid lockdowns.

Thank you for the recommendation *adds to ever growing list*

It's fine...

 

[Mr_Soup]

Thank you for sharing

I've not played any of those games, except a bit of FFXIV, but I've seen some of RE8 and it seems to be about the jump scares. No thanks

In FFXIV I'm down the crafting rabbit hole as it's extremely satisfying, but it seems to be a good MMO.

I’ve heard good things about FFXIV. The MMO Final Fantasy games I’ve not tried, mostly because, well, I believe I explained that already.

If you like MMO’s and crafting, you’d feel right at home with Guild Wars 2. Very good game that’s criminally underrated. You can play the entire base game for free and there’s no subscriptions. You’ve got nothing to lose by trying it - I can’t recommend it enough.

RE7 was really bad with jump scares (they don’t bother me, but there’s enough of them that if they do bother you, you should steer clear). It was designed with VR in mind, so that’s part of it.

 

[ericalauren]

I'm on episode seven of Jamestown. It's a TV show from 2017. The series takes place in the Jamestown colony in Virginia (USA). I'm a history nerd so I love it.

 

[Ingenue844]

I'm on episode seven of Jamestown. It's a TV show from 2017. The series takes place in the Jamestown colony in Virginia (USA). I'm a history nerd so I love it.

I watched the first season of that show. It was really good.

 

[Ingenue844]

https://imgur.com/yaq73GC

I find Captain Mal very distracting

 

[cheekygirl75]

https://imgur.com/yaq73GC

I find Captain Mal very distracting

Do you aim to misbehave (with him)?

 

[Cogan]

https://imgur.com/yaq73GC

I find Captain Mal very distracting

I can see why.
Among the ladies I find Kaylee to be the distracting one.

 

[Ingenue844]

Do you aim to misbehave (with him)?

Not just him…

 

[Ingenue844]

I can see why.
Among the ladies I find Kaylee to be the distracting one.

I kinda have a thing for Badger. But when it comes to girls, I’d pick Saffron

 

[Cogan]

I kinda have a thing for Badger. But when it comes to girls, I’d pick Saffron

I'm boring when it comes to the male. I like Hoban.
Saffron is beautiful, but the rest is not my cup of tea.

 

[Ingenue844]

I'm boring when it comes to the male. I like Hoban.
Saffron is beautiful, but the rest is not my cup of tea.

Mister Universe is kinda my type too