Video Games Thread

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There is also now a public Beta version of a VR Mod for the very first Half Life!!!

Means I can now play Half Life, Half Life 2, Half Life 2 Episode 1 and Half Life 2 Episode 2 before I play Half Life Alyx in March.

No news on whether the VR Mod for Half Life works with Blue Shift and Opposing Force though.

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One thing I hate about roguelike games is the complete lack of story and the monotonous gameplay - but I'd definitely recommend checking out Children of Morta.. basic graphics, but really good storytelling with RPG elements - free on Game Pass for PC and console too.

Comes from the same publisher as Moonlighter which is another one worth a look too - although I got a bit bored of that towards the end.. and whilst I was mopping up achievements, my save file somehow got corrupted in which it would load.. but not save over... without being able to use save slots (just one save file per game) - it stopped me playing that altogether.

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Thankfully bugs like that in the Xbox and Playstation games are kept to a minimum. Same with games bought on the Oculus Store too.

I've always argued that ANY bug that stops you from completing a game should ALWAYS be Class A bugs but many Lead Testers bung them in as Class B bugs.

QA is one of the reasons why I prefer buying my games from the Oculus Store instead of Steam, developers can get away with releasing buggy games on Steam because Valve don't curate their Store any more, nor do they bother testing the bloomin things. You can release any old crap on Steam.

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Forgot to mention that I think I've lost my Rift S 

Have spent a couple of weeks at my Mum's in Kent and meant to bring my PC and Rift S so that I could work on my game whilst I'm here.

Unpacked the car when we got here and my Rift S wasn't in the boot. I have a horrible feeling that I left it on my doorstep next to my bag because I thought that my Stepfather was moving stuff from there to the car.

But I can't even remember if I brought the thing down the stairs or not so hopefully I'll get back tomorrow and find it sitting on my bed otherwise some scrote has lifted it off my bloody doorstep. 

Bloody good job I'm expecting a cheque waiting at home worth a grand otherwise I'd be REALLY pissed off!

If I have lost it I WAS tempted to get an Oculus Quest instead but the Rift S is more comfortable to wear and I've already bought all three of the Vader Immortal games so I won't benefit from the freebie cos it's a Cross Play title (one that you can buy in one Store and play both versions at no extra cost).

It does have OLED displays though and a physical IPD adjustment but the Rift S fits my IPD just fine and has the advantage of an RGB Stripe instead of a Pentile display.

Think I'll stick with the Rift S if I need to get another one.

Should also be able to get a Yaw VR Motion Simulator if/when I get my full PPI refund too. Not sure how long it's all going to take tbh. The partial refund took 5 months I think so I would assume about the same for the full refund. And it's all tax free apart from VAT that I need to pay when I give the company their cut.

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Luckily I left my Rift S on my bed so I don't have to buy another one!

People are really loving The Walking Dead Saints And Sinners. It's supposed to be REALLY intense. Have been reading some of the user reviews on the Oculus subReddit and people have been terrified playing it lol

Got my cheque and put it in the bank on Saturday but it hasn't cleared yet which is annoying. I sent off the paperwork saying that I want to go for the full refund but because I filled in the application online and ticked the checkbox rather than personally having the PPI (mis)sold by someone I don't think their solicitors will take the case. They have a 100% record so only go for cases that they're guaranteed to win so I don't think they'll go for it.

Oh well. I got 1036 quid in the end because the taxman grabbed 30 quid of it. Once I give the claim company their 24% and paid off my Capital One debt I'm going to have 496 quid left over to go towards my Yaw VR Motion Simulator.

Not sure when I'm going to get it now, either before Christmas or in May next year I reckon.

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Oh shit! Killing zombies in The Walking Dead Saints And Sinners is VERY satisfying lol 😂

Grabbing them by the head and plunging a screwdriver or blade into the brain is fucking AWESOME, and killing them with a bloody great big axe is even AWESOMERER 😎😂😎

Found a bug right at the start which is going to stop me from completing the game so I'm going to have to start again but it's no big deal.

There's a bit of crafting to do as well which always floats my boat. 😎

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Saints And Sinners is VERY heavily influenced by ZombiU I'm VERY glad to say.

They have a similar system with a backpack and inventory handling and when you die you can pick up your loot unless you die again before getting it. I don't think that you face your previous zombie self though because you're always the same character all the way through.

They've also added in a patch an idea that I had for my game - the enemies respond to your headset's microphone.

Annoying that they've added these things cos now it looks like I've ripped the ideas off for my game rather than being a decent game designer lol 😂

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Two Point Hospital is now out on Xbox, and is on Game Pass. Loved playing it on pc, will enjoy going through it again now.

Basically it's a remake of Theme Hospital, from the olden days...

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Have been playing Half Life Alyx and it's amazing. Set between Half Life 1 and Half Life 2 in the Half Life timeline.

Am on Chapter 4 so far and the game is just beautiful, definitely the best looking VR game out there so far, but that's mainly down to Valve developing it as a corridor shooter so they can afford to up the eye candy without tanking performance.

I'm doing the same with my game for the same reason.

Biggest highlight for me so far was seeing a dead rat stuck in one of the things you turn to open Combine barriers, nice little design touch.

This really does demonstrate how well shooters with realistic weapons suit VR. You need to empty your chamber, press a button to eject the clip, reach over your shoulder to grab another clip, bung it in and then pull the barrel back to load your first bullet.

Makes things VERY hectic when you have Combine enemies or headcrab zombies out to get you.

There's also a new couple of headcrabs too. A darker one that's more intelligent and takes evasive action and one that has a metal covering on the top so that it's bulletproof, you have to wait until they show their vulnerable underbelly before you can kill them. 😁

The only thing that's pissed me off so far is there's no fucking crowbar. How the FUCK could Valve release a Half Life game without a fucking crowbar ffs?!!?!? 🤬😡🤬😭

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Aaaaaaargh!!! 😯😭😯

My CPU cooler's fan has died!!! 🤬😡🤬😭😭😭

REALLY hoping that my CPU hasn't fried in the process! 😱

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My CPU was fine, got myself a Noctua D15 to replace the crappy Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo I installed when I originally built my PC years ago.

I completed Half Life Alyx earlier in the week and it was AWESOME. The last level was a bit of an anticlimax though, and it was a bit obvious what was in the Vault too. Some of the level design was top notch and some of it was disappointing, a bit of a mixed bag.

Have now started playing Skyrim VR with the Wabbajack VR Essentials Mod Pack, 400 mods. 😲😂

Before I used to install a load of Mods, start playing and then install a load more, meaning I'd have to start a new game again...so this time I've gone the whole hog and have installed 400 so as long as I stay away from Nexus I'll end up completing this game I've just started 😂😂😂

Skyrim VR Modded up to the eyeballs looks INCREDIBLE 😲😁😎

Definitely one of the best VR games out there.

And with a bit of luck I'll be getting a few hundred quid around Christmas so I'll be able to order a Yaw VR Motion Simulator. The GTA V VR Mod works with it apparently which is going to be AMAZEBALLS 😁😎

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Star Wars Squadrons is AMAZEBALLS

It's pretty much a spiritual successor to X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter. It's got HOTAS support (which needs some adjustments by the developers in a patch at some point because it isn't ideal, it IS playable though!) and NO MICROTRANSACTIONS.

And of course it REALLY shines in VR, but can also be played flat by you peasants

Only played through both Prologues so far (you alternate between an Imperial pilot and a Rebel pilot as the story progresses). The controls are going to take a bit of getting used to but that's what the Story part of the game is for I guess, ready for online multiplayer goodness.

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Am I the only one that's bought Star Wars Squadrons? It's basically the spiritual successor to X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter.

It's awesome!!!

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Have just given the online multiplayer a go and it's pretty good.

These Fleet Battles are quite epic 😲😎😲

Killing enemy ships boosts your morale, and once you have enough morale you go on the attack and your opponents have to defend.

The ultimate aim of the game is to kill the capital ship of your enemy (either a Star Destroyer or whatever the fuck the Rebel equivalent is called).

You can of course decide to do your own thing of course but going after a Star Destroyer on your own in your X-Wing isn't a great idea 😂😂😂

So your capital ship has two smaller ships in support (can't remember what they're called now) so the idea is to attack those smaller ships first and destroy them before taking on the capital ships.

Then once you get onto the capital ships there's different targets you need to hit and destroy before taking them down like the shields, targeting and tractor beam.

It can get a bit hectic 😲

I might try for just the dog fighting next, which basically your standard Team Deathwatch and try switching from my Xbox One controller to my HOTAS and see how I get on.

I've been constantly getting my arse kicked, I'm a bit crap at it so far ☺😂😂😂

The Fleet Battle mode is awesome though.

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Apparently 0.048% of the Milky Way galaxy has now been explored. 😲😂

Have got a Win/Lose ratio on Star Wars Squadrons of 0.6 now. 😎😁😎

Am having a break from it now and am jumping back into Skyrim VR. Am hanging around Solitude at the moment. This game modded up to the eyeballs is just incredible in VR. So good.