The video game thread.

Jason P said:

MayDay10 said:

Jason P said:

I think Civilization 7 was finally completed after a 1.5 year full-priced beta test.  A recent update looks like it fixed a lot of the criticisms.  It was 40% off so I will be playing it this weekend.  I was thinking of playing Civ 6 a few days ago and decided to check out the progress of Civ 7 and The Test of Time patch just release a few weeks ago.  

I just cant do Civ any more.  I played thousands of hours on 2, 3, and 4.  Looked forward to V, had the special edition pre-ordered and didn't make it through one game (which I was dominating which never happened on previous versions).  Tried 6, liked it better than 5, but didnt get through a game (did start a 2nd game that went unfinished).  No urge at all to try 7 from what I have heard, just a worse version of 6.  Them releasing a patch to completely change the bad idea of a game they had is funny.

I really wish it would go back to the less arcadey games that were 2, 3, and 4.  I would like to see what Paradox would do with a full Civ game

I didn't have a PC that was powerful to run Civ 5 when it released, but I played the heck out of Civ 4.  For me, the biggest issue with Civ 4 was end-game worker management.  I liked Civ 6 ... workers could improve 3 things and then they were gone.  I've been waiting for Firaxis to fix Civ 7 before starting ... I watched some videos and it is quite different than the game that was released.  

I figure life is too short to wait for Civ 8 so I will let you know my thoughts on Civ 7 after playing it for a while.  At least the studio lead ate crow and admitted Firaxis screwed up instead of blaming the gamers for being too stupid to recognize their genius like some studios do.

Yeah, agree with the workers in Civ IV.  Absolutely critical early and for awhile, but just a nuisance to find busy-work in the late-mid to later game.  Late-game in general turns into a slog.  I think Civ V really should have kept many of the principles and mechanics of Civ IV, but expand on the Civic stuff.... but also change the mid-late game.  Force powers to focus more on diplomacy and economy and change the way wars are fought with advanced military units.

I just didnt like V right off the bat.  There were weird cartooney wonders you found off the bat, barbarians were weird, and there were silly video gamey missions you had to do.  I remember diplomacy was really random too, whereas on previous games, you would see exactly why they like or dislike you.  Everything in Civ IV seemed to matter and values improvements, upgrades, units, tiles, etc were all tracked (people called it a spreadsheet and I liked that aspect of it).  Something that could have been converted to a board game

I have been waiting for a proper civ game since V was released.  Some of the paradox games tided me over for a bit, as far as grand strategy goes.  

Will wait to see how you like 7.  

I hadn’t heard that about the “physical” version. Like…what’s the point?

I will say I absolutely love GTA, and there’s no reason for me to think this will not live up to the brand. I’m willing to spend the money. 

Jason P said:

Sony had a hell of a week.  Hell being the key word.  To summarize:

·       Announced they were going all-in on “live service” gaming despite losing billions of dollars so far on live service games (the consumer will pay for those mistakes one way or the other)

·       Announce that over 500 digital movies bought through their store were being de-listed with no refunds due to license expiring

·       Announced they were shutting down the PS3 and Vita stores

·       Announce new terms that Sony can take back everything you bought if your account is inactive for 3 years

·       Announced they were killing physical discs.  The main factory is being repurposed.  This will create a monopoly where all purchases will need to be made Sony’s digital storefronts and takes away gamers options and game preservation.  Spending $80 on a game is an extended rental.  You will own nothing and like it.

·       Alluded to the PSN subscriptions to being more expensive.  The most basic plan is required to make games fully functional and to play online … something PC gamers pay nothing for.

·       Sony did all of this after their investor’s earning call, banking on everyone forgetting due to our short attention spans

This all points to the PS6 being released in 2028 or late 2027 in an all-digital format when memory prices are sky high.  Don’t be surprised if a 1 TB PS6 goes for at least $1,299.

And EA will be adding advertisements to their games, a trend other studies will follow.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but the state of gaming in 2026 and for the foreseeable future is totally …

They also are (rumoured) to be looking at another console price increase!

mca47 said:

Yeah, the news is getting worse and worse for console gamers, almost every day.  Including what Jason P wrote above, where it seems like Sony is going full "Go f yourselves", Xbox is now laying off 1/5th of their employees, bunch of games cancelled and 4 studios leaving.  I mean the state of the industry has been a bit sketch of late, but it seems like the last few months, things are moving quick!!

The only good news there, and it's a stretch to label it that way, but the studios went from 'closing' to being sold so at least they have more of a chance than they did last week...

Vitalogensia said:

I hadn’t heard that about the “physical” version. Like…what’s the point?

I will say I absolutely love GTA, and there’s no reason for me to think this will not live up to the brand. I’m willing to spend the money. 

Yeah I'm getting it...should be fun

mca47 said:

I guess the only thing they can hope for is people buying new controllers due to stick drift.  LOL  That said, i've had to throw out two controllers due to this.  Cheap ass shit.

Where all console gamers meet in agreement haha