What Are You Playing? (Winter 2017)

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

Since X-Men Legends II didn't work out, I started playing Ys Origin.
This looks and plays amazing on the Win.

[FuryFox]

Nioh: Amazing game. Definitely in the 9 and up escalon, there 8's out there must be from brittle casuals. This game is really more Ninja Gaiden + Extensive Character Building - Jumping than it is Dark Souls. The combat scenarios are more challenging than souls games, but, you have more control of the battle once you're good at playing, and hitting new execution plateaus is some of the most rewarding gaming out there. There's loads of content, smart design implementation all over, and even the level remixes (Twilight Versions) feel really fresh and inventive. Level design can be a little dull, but it never really matters since the combat is so intense, and it still has its showcase moments.

[bbobb]

Nioh: Amazing game. Definitely in the 9 and up escalon, there 8's out there must be from brittle casuals. This game is really more Ninja Gaiden + Extensive Character Building - Jumping than it is Dark Souls. The combat scenarios are more challenging than souls games, but, you have more control of the battle once you're good at playing, and hitting new execution plateaus is some of the most rewarding gaming out there. There's loads of content, smart design implementation all over, and even the level remixes (Twilight Versions) feel really fresh and inventive. Level design can be a little dull, but it never really matters since the combat is so intense, and it still has its showcase moments.

I'm almost done with the game and honestly I started off enthralled like you were but my opinion has devolved into more of a meh. The bosses are amazing and the combat is great, but the level design is largely uninspired, especially how repetitious the side missions become, and the enemy variety is incredibly lacking. Also the loot pinata aspect has gotten pretty old, I don't even bother to look through what I got most of the time anymore because the differences are usually pretty minimal.

I don't think I'm going to bother with playing NG+

[FuryFox]

Oh man, that's a bummer to hear. I was getting an inkling that the item builds would suddenly become much more interesting, or continue a basically-same-numbers grind. It seems like some of the combinations of clan, guardian spirit, set bonus, and a bit of weapon speccing could get some pretty unique stuff, like near infinite ninjutsu or onymo builds, guns only, constant stealth, stuff like that.

[bbobb]

There's a bit of variety in the builds but not as huge of difference as would be nice. That and the grind to get good gear is horrible. I finished it tonight and definitely came away disappointed. It was a decent game but not as great as the demo gave me hope for.

Also the story was flat out the worst. Nonsensical cutscenes that vaguely tie together sengoku era Japan but if you don't know the history then you really won't get it at all. Hell I have a passing knowledge and it still didn't make a sense nor did I get who most of the characters were.

[Cowutopia]

Today? Powerball.

[icarusfall]

Almost through the main story (and level cap) of The Division. The actual story portion is pretty weak, but the atmosphere they created is pretty exceptional. For $20 you could do far worse than doing it 'offline'. I've done everything solo so far, and it's a nice challenge. Only had to grind for a couple hours to level up gear. The cover system is well done. Yeah, I like it - and I haven't even done the Dark Zone, or DLC stuff yet

[Fe 26]

Been playing some non us released nes games. Japan's version of ghostbusters 2 is pretty awesome. It has a puzzle feel to it and the level design is pretty good. I wish this is the game we got.

Also played some nes splatterhouse. Its cute in a weird way. Its pretty fun too. I'm not sure why we didn't get it. Its not that gorey. And they could have turned the butcher knife into something else like the other us releases.

[GohanX]

NES Splatterhouse is fantastic. I might like it better than the real game.

[Darmonde]

Almost through the main story (and level cap) of The Division. The actual story portion is pretty weak, but the atmosphere they created is pretty exceptional. For $20 you could do far worse than doing it 'offline'. I've done everything solo so far, and it's a nice challenge. Only had to grind for a couple hours to level up gear. The cover system is well done. Yeah, I like it - and I haven't even done the Dark Zone, or DLC stuff yet

I actually picked this up for cheap around new years, same as you. I feel the same about a lot you've posted. The base game has some really great atmosphere. They put a ton of work into the environment which is awesome, and a surprising amount into audio logs to flesh out the story of the game- which is a bit weird because I haven't seen a single person who cares about it. A bunch of the story/audio is super cringe inducing, but it's still an impressive effort.

The gameplay is not bad, but I actually don't think it's very well designed. The enemies have tons of health (or shields) and have perfect accuracy for miles, while getting shot in the face. There are tons of combat mechanics but none are ever explained, and its very hard to tell what is actually helping. You can definitely figure the system out but it feels a bit cheap to me.

My opinion about the stuff you haven't tried yet- the first DLC is just a loot grind. Shoot the same factions you have been, and get gear- but the missions end if you go down, so it's not great to solo. The second DLC is almost a side micro game using the Division world and assets. 25 people start with basically nothing and scrounge for gear to get to the dark zone and extract. It's fun but only if you don't mind losing, because you will lose a lot. It's basically PVP against everyone else.

Dark zone is really shit right now and just not fun. You shoot really hard mobs, and then some group of 2-4 players come by and kill you and take your loot. If you manage to stay away from rogue players you can extract your loot, which is usually garbage and definitely not worth the effort.