Video games...what ya playing? And what are you looking forward to? (2 Viewers)

[thecatch]

I'm thinking of getting a Dell gaming laptop soon for Xbox Game pass / Steam. Has anyone had experience with them?

I've had an Alienware (made by Dell) since 2019 and it's worked flawlessly. Probably the best computer I've ever owned. These things put out a ton of heat and I hear can be susceptible to breaking down, but I haven't had a problem.

 

[MTskibum]

This is why i am building a desktop to use for gaming.

Please share what you’re working on if ya feel like it. I want to build one myself but haven’t started relearning what everything is (as far as specs)

My goal was to go cheap on the processor/video card but high end everywhere else with the plan on upgrading those two components in a few years. AMD has publicly stated that they will be making chips for the AM5 socket through at least the end of 2025 which is what drove the decision to go with an AMD processor.

Any cost/benefit analysis says to go with intel, but I went with AMD anyways. The reason is because intel will change sockets with their next CPU, so the motherboards would be worthless in an upgrade. I am not sure I made the correct decision to go with AMD, but it is not too big of deal.

I bought a 3060 RTX on Friday, however I returned it yesterday. I am not sure what video card I am going with but it will be cheap. I may end up with an AMD or intel video card depending on what i can find on sale. The plan will be to get a 5070 in a 5 years once the 60x0 series is out.

I am fine on gaming with middle of the road settings and I should be able to get 10+ years from this setup playing any new game on the middle settings.

You almost lost me with going away from intel but your logic is sound and I agree with your build strategy. That’s how I planned to do it.

It is worse than that, I have friends/relatives that work for intel.

The processor I ended up with is one of the worst reviewed processors out there, the 7700x. It runs hot, uses an above average amount of electricity, and is equivalent in performance to a 12th gen i5. However, I got it at a dirt cheap price(125) and since I believe AMD will catch back up again in the next 2 years I am not worried.

 

[The Tick]

This is why i am building a desktop to use for gaming.

Please share what you’re working on if ya feel like it. I want to build one myself but haven’t started relearning what everything is (as far as specs)

My goal was to go cheap on the processor/video card but high end everywhere else with the plan on upgrading those two components in a few years. AMD has publicly stated that they will be making chips for the AM5 socket through at least the end of 2025 which is what drove the decision to go with an AMD processor.

Any cost/benefit analysis says to go with intel, but I went with AMD anyways. The reason is because intel will change sockets with their next CPU, so the motherboards would be worthless in an upgrade. I am not sure I made the correct decision to go with AMD, but it is not too big of deal.

I bought a 3060 RTX on Friday, however I returned it yesterday. I am not sure what video card I am going with but it will be cheap. I may end up with an AMD or intel video card depending on what i can find on sale. The plan will be to get a 5070 in a 5 years once the 60x0 series is out.

I am fine on gaming with middle of the road settings and I should be able to get 10+ years from this setup playing any new game on the middle settings.

You almost lost me with going away from intel but your logic is sound and I agree with your build strategy. That’s how I planned to do it.

It is worse than that, I have friends/relatives that work for intel.

The processor I ended up with is one of the worst reviewed processors out there, the 7700x. It runs hot, uses an above average amount of electricity, and is equivalent in performance to a 12th gen i5. However, I got it at a dirt cheap price(125) and since I believe AMD will catch back up again in the next 2 years I am not worried.

I think AMD is the right choice right now for at least the upper range chips. Their X3D chips seem to KILL it for gaming compared to similar priced Intel chips. I'm usually a big Intel guy, all my previous gaming PC's at home and I design hardware around Intel CPU's at work, but this gen AMD chip looks nice for gaming.

 

[The Tick]

This is why i am building a desktop to use for gaming.

Please share what you’re working on if ya feel like it. I want to build one myself but haven’t started relearning what everything is (as far as specs)

My goal was to go cheap on the processor/video card but high end everywhere else with the plan on upgrading those two components in a few years. AMD has publicly stated that they will be making chips for the AM5 socket through at least the end of 2025 which is what drove the decision to go with an AMD processor.

Any cost/benefit analysis says to go with intel, but I went with AMD anyways. The reason is because intel will change sockets with their next CPU, so the motherboards would be worthless in an upgrade. I am not sure I made the correct decision to go with AMD, but it is not too big of deal.

I bought a 3060 RTX on Friday, however I returned it yesterday. I am not sure what video card I am going with but it will be cheap. I may end up with an AMD or intel video card depending on what i can find on sale. The plan will be to get a 5070 in a 5 years once the 60x0 series is out.

I am fine on gaming with middle of the road settings and I should be able to get 10+ years from this setup playing any new game on the middle settings.

You almost lost me with going away from intel but your logic is sound and I agree with your build strategy. That’s how I planned to do it.

It is worse than that, I have friends/relatives that work for intel.

The processor I ended up with is one of the worst reviewed processors out there, the 7700x. It runs hot, uses an above average amount of electricity, and is equivalent in performance to a 12th gen i5. However, I got it at a dirt cheap price(125) and since I believe AMD will catch back up again in the next 2 years I am not worried.

I'm planning to build a high end gaming PC come black Friday. Right now I have it price out to around $2500. AMD 7800X3D CPU, Nvidia 4080 graphics card, 1TB OS/4TB game SSD's bundled into an ITX case. I'm upgrading from an Nvidia 1080 box I built in 2016 or so. Will be a huge upgrade and I'm pretty excited.
I really wanted to put an AMD 7900 card in it, but my monitor is a pretty nice gsync, so I'm kinda locked in for now.

 

[phandango]

Finally finished Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It's probably the most I've ever been entertained by a video game. I basically started playing when it was released in mid-May, putting in a few hours at a time, mostly at night. According to my stats on the Switch, I played for more than 250 hours, and it never got boring -- there were parts of the map I was still discovering after 200 hours of gameplay. The biggest drawback is that now I don't really want to play anything for a while because anything else will be a letdown.

 

[jobarules]

Finally finished Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It's probably the most I've ever been entertained by a video game. I basically started playing when it was released in mid-May, putting in a few hours at a time, mostly at night. According to my stats on the Switch, I played for more than 250 hours, and it never got boring -- there were parts of the map I was still discovering after 200 hours of gameplay. The biggest drawback is that now I don't really want to play anything for a while because anything else will be a letdown.

Funny. I got bored of it and stopped playing. Just not my type of game

 

[IvanKaramazov]

This is why i am building a desktop to use for gaming.

Please share what you’re working on if ya feel like it. I want to build one myself but haven’t started relearning what everything is (as far as specs)

My goal was to go cheap on the processor/video card but high end everywhere else with the plan on upgrading those two components in a few years. AMD has publicly stated that they will be making chips for the AM5 socket through at least the end of 2025 which is what drove the decision to go with an AMD processor.

Any cost/benefit analysis says to go with intel, but I went with AMD anyways. The reason is because intel will change sockets with their next CPU, so the motherboards would be worthless in an upgrade. I am not sure I made the correct decision to go with AMD, but it is not too big of deal.

I bought a 3060 RTX on Friday, however I returned it yesterday. I am not sure what video card I am going with but it will be cheap. I may end up with an AMD or intel video card depending on what i can find on sale. The plan will be to get a 5070 in a 5 years once the 60x0 series is out.

I am fine on gaming with middle of the road settings and I should be able to get 10+ years from this setup playing any new game on the middle settings.

You almost lost me with going away from intel but your logic is sound and I agree with your build strategy. That’s how I planned to do it.

It is worse than that, I have friends/relatives that work for intel.

The processor I ended up with is one of the worst reviewed processors out there, the 7700x. It runs hot, uses an above average amount of electricity, and is equivalent in performance to a 12th gen i5. However, I got it at a dirt cheap price(125) and since I believe AMD will catch back up again in the next 2 years I am not worried.

I'm planning to build a high end gaming PC come black Friday. Right now I have it price out to around $2500. AMD 7800X3D CPU, Nvidia 4080 graphics card, 1TB OS/4TB game SSD's bundled into an ITX case. I'm upgrading from an Nvidia 1080 box I built in 2016 or so. Will be a huge upgrade and I'm pretty excited.
I really wanted to put an AMD 7900 card in it, but my monitor is a pretty nice gsync, so I'm kinda locked in for now.

PC gaming is pretty darn expensive, but I have to say that I am probably never going back to consoles at this point. I let my son take my PS5 with him when he moved into his new apartment and it doesn't matter much to me if I ever get it back or not. I wish I were the kind of hobbyist who enjoyed building his own rig and tinkering with it over time Ship-of-Theseus style, but I took one look inside my pre-built and realized instantly that I don't have the skill, manual dexterity, or patience for that sort of thing.

And it's not like you have to upgrade that often. I don't play a lot of super-intensive games that require massive graphics, and 4K monitors were a very bad value when I was buying, so we're talking 1440p/120fps here anyway. My machine from 2000 is still doing great and won't need anything for a while. And besides, I don't play golf, I don't hunt, I don't have a midlife-crisis-mobile, etc. Video gaming is pretty much the only activity I spend money on besides trying to watch NFL games on streaming services. What do I care if I shell out for a rig once every five years.

 

[need2know]

Finally finished Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It's probably the most I've ever been entertained by a video game. I basically started playing when it was released in mid-May, putting in a few hours at a time, mostly at night. According to my stats on the Switch, I played for more than 250 hours, and it never got boring -- there were parts of the map I was still discovering after 200 hours of gameplay. The biggest drawback is that now I don't really want to play anything for a while because anything else will be a letdown.

Funny. I got bored of it and stopped playing. Just not my type of game

Yeah I wasn't impressed

 

[Dennis Castro]

Anybody playing Starfield? I bought an Xbox X-Series just for that (and some other stuff yet to be released). So far, I’ve been loving it.

 

[thecatch]

Anybody playing Starfield? I bought an Xbox X-Series just for that (and some other stuff yet to be released). So far, I’ve been loving it.

I put about 30 mins into it before I decided I wanted to go back and finish Jedi Survivor first. It seems pretty fun so far but there is also a learning curve and the UI and navigation is not super intuitive. I’m sure I’ll figure it out once I start dedicating real time to it.

 

[titusbramble]

F-Zero 99 looks a huge amount of fun from what I've seen on Twitch but there's no way I'm buying a Switch and then subscribing to a service just to play a game they could SMB35 at any given time

 

[jrt103]

Anybody playing Starfield? I bought an Xbox X-Series just for that (and some other stuff yet to be released). So far, I’ve been loving it.

Yep, Huge fan. I have around 80 hours into it so far

 

[jwb]

Anybody playing Starfield? I bought an Xbox X-Series just for that (and some other stuff yet to be released). So far, I’ve been loving it.

I put about 30 mins into it before I decided I wanted to go back and finish Jedi Survivor first. It seems pretty fun so far but there is also a learning curve and the UI and navigation is not super intuitive. I’m sure I’ll figure it out once I start dedicating real time to it.

It's actually really easy. It just seems complicated at first. Basically, you can fast travel everywhere. The big thing is there is no city/area map. But the areas are not that big, so it's not too much of a problem.

To @Dennis Castro - I've been playing for a few weeks. I really enjoyed it (the story/faction quests are pretty good), but put it down after 50 hours or so. I'll revisit once the modders get ahold of it.

 

[thecatch]

Anybody playing Starfield? I bought an Xbox X-Series just for that (and some other stuff yet to be released). So far, I’ve been loving it.

I put about 30 mins into it before I decided I wanted to go back and finish Jedi Survivor first. It seems pretty fun so far but there is also a learning curve and the UI and navigation is not super intuitive. I’m sure I’ll figure it out once I start dedicating real time to it.

It's actually really easy. It just seems complicated at first. Basically, you can fast travel everywhere. The big thing is there is no city/area map. But the areas are not that big, so it's not too much of a problem.

The lack of city maps seems like an oversight. I got lost in the first city almost immediately. I also have a terrible sense of direction.

 

[TheAristocrat]

Holding off on Starfield. Probably for Steam sales in December and absolutely for QoL mods.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I’m playing Might & Magic Book II: Gates to Another World

This is one of the hardest RPGs I’ve ever played. It’s also one of my very favorite. I did not get very far in this as a kid in the mid 80s.

There’s absolutely no hand holding, no quarter given, a phenomenal bestiary and depth.

This one will take me awhile but I will love every second of it.

 

[McBokonon]

Holding off on Starfield. Probably for Steam sales in December and absolutely for QoL mods.

I’m having fun but there’s definitely some things that feel unfinished. This game could be really long term amazing - there’s a great base here for mods and DLC.

 

[Scoresman]

Dove back into Cyberpunk77 with the 2.0 patch and DLC release. This is a completely different game now from two years ago. Amazing experience and I have not had one crash or bug in a couple dozen hours playing.

 

[TheAristocrat]

Dove back into Cyberpunk77 with the 2.0 patch and DLC release. This is a completely different game now from two years ago. Amazing experience and I have not had one crash or bug in a couple dozen hours playing.

I bought the DLC but haven't played it yet. Working on an achievement in The Last Spell that is absolutely crushing me.

 

[jobarules]

New Mario and Spiderman dropping Oct 20

 

[Poke_4_Life]

Dove back into Cyberpunk77 with the 2.0 patch and DLC release. This is a completely different game now from two years ago. Amazing experience and I have not had one crash or bug in a couple dozen hours playing.

I should probably give this another go. I was one of the launch day customers that got a refund, the launch day version was such a cluster. I'm reluctant to give them money, but do need a new game soon. I just still have a grudge. Hmm.

 

[belljr]

I beat Cyberpunk when it came out.... I enjoyed it - not sure I'd go back to it

 

[Scoresman]

Dove back into Cyberpunk77 with the 2.0 patch and DLC release. This is a completely different game now from two years ago. Amazing experience and I have not had one crash or bug in a couple dozen hours playing.

I should probably give this another go. I was one of the launch day customers that got a refund, the launch day version was such a cluster. I'm reluctant to give them money, but do need a new game soon. I just still have a grudge. Hmm.

This has turned into probably my favorite open world type of game. It's like a combo of GTA V and Fallout in all the right ways, except this game has a great story and cast as well. It's just so immersive. It's amazing how they turned this game around. I too had to put down the original release shortly after beginning it because it was so bad.

 

[Scoresman]

I beat Cyberpunk when it came out.... I enjoyed it - not sure I'd go back to it

The DLC alone is worth it. They also changed so much of the skill trees and character stuff and with all the things that actually work now, it's almost like a sequel to the original release.

 

[Corporation]

Dove back into Cyberpunk77 with the 2.0 patch and DLC release. This is a completely different game now from two years ago. Amazing experience and I have not had one crash or bug in a couple dozen hours playing.

I will probably pick this up on a sale.

I played the Guardians of the Galaxy game recently, picked it up for $17 from steam. It only took 15 hours or so to complete, but highly recommend. It was like playing a movie. Great dialogue and story.

 

[belljr]

I beat Cyberpunk when it came out.... I enjoyed it - not sure I'd go back to it

The DLC alone is worth it. They also changed so much of the skill trees and character stuff and with all the things that actually work now, it's almost like a sequel to the original release.

Interesting....wonder if I still have my free PS5 upgrade

 

[Poke_4_Life]

So it looks like Cyberpunk 2077 is $50 and the DLC is $30. I think I'll wait for a complete edition for $50-60.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

So it looks like Cyberpunk 2077 is $50 and the DLC is $30. I think I'll wait for a complete edition for $50-60.

I was just thinking "Hmm, maybe I should go back and check out Cyberpunk now that it's fixed and deeply discounted." Guess I'll wait for "deeply discounted" part.

 

[Scoresman]

So it looks like Cyberpunk 2077 is $50 and the DLC is $30. I think I'll wait for a complete edition for $50-60.

I'd say its worth that just for the sheer amount of content, but yeah it will inevitably be bundled together cheaper.

 

[Todem]

I have Cyberpunk for PS5. I shelved the game literally inside 3 weeks when it launched. It was such a mess.

Once I finish BG3 (in Act II) I will give this a run with the latest patch. If I embrace it and love it....we will get the DLC.

 

[thecatch]

Dove back into Cyberpunk77 with the 2.0 patch and DLC release. This is a completely different game now from two years ago. Amazing experience and I have not had one crash or bug in a couple dozen hours playing.

I will probably pick this up on a sale.

I played the Guardians of the Galaxy game recently, picked it up for $17 from steam. It only took 15 hours or so to complete, but highly recommend. It was like playing a movie. Great dialogue and story.

I posted about GoG a few months back, I think. An under the radar gem for sure.

 

[Tick]

I’m playing Might & Magic Book II: Gates to Another World

This is one of the hardest RPGs I’ve ever played. It’s also one of my very favorite. I did not get very far in this as a kid in the mid 80s.

There’s absolutely no hand holding, no quarter given, a phenomenal bestiary and depth.

This one will take me awhile but I will love every second of it.

I could probably find a full world map I made on graph paper somewhere when I played this on an Apple IIe.

I remember little - there was a puzzle where you had to get all the rows and columns to add up to the same number, a town where all male characters died pretty quickly (and from what I could tell, no penalty to having an all-female party), some castle up in the upper left corner of the world with ridiculous instakill enemies but incredible loot (Arch Devil? Demon Lord?)... I really wanted the Adamantium Axe to be the best weapon in the game but it just wasn't.

I never solved it. I have to think I had one of the highest level parties anyone had in that game, but I couldn't figure out all the puzzles. In a pre-internet age, that was a dead end.

That's it, all the rest is gone, I think. Man, would I drive my family nuts if I picked this up again.

 

[Tick]

I’m playing Might & Magic Book II: Gates to Another World

This is one of the hardest RPGs I’ve ever played. It’s also one of my very favorite. I did not get very far in this as a kid in the mid 80s.

There’s absolutely no hand holding, no quarter given, a phenomenal bestiary and depth.

This one will take me awhile but I will love every second of it.

I could probably find a full world map I made on graph paper somewhere when I played this on an Apple IIe.

I remember little - there was a puzzle where you had to get all the rows and columns to add up to the same number, a town where all male characters died pretty quickly (and from what I could tell, no penalty to having an all-female party), some castle up in the upper left corner of the world with ridiculous instakill enemies but incredible loot (Arch Devil? Demon Lord?)... I really wanted the Adamantium Axe to be the best weapon in the game but it just wasn't.

I never solved it. I have to think I had one of the highest level parties anyone had in that game, but I couldn't figure out all the puzzles. In a pre-internet age, that was a dead end.

That's it, all the rest is gone, I think. Man, would I drive my family nuts if I picked this up again.

Wait a minute... automapping? Maps in the manual? WTF man, I spent forever mapping that ****.

 

[Tick]

Oh, I'm just wrong - it was Might and Magic 1. https://www.oldgames.sk/docs/Might-and-Magic/1/monsters.html

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I’m playing Might & Magic Book II: Gates to Another World

This is one of the hardest RPGs I’ve ever played. It’s also one of my very favorite. I did not get very far in this as a kid in the mid 80s.

There’s absolutely no hand holding, no quarter given, a phenomenal bestiary and depth.

This one will take me awhile but I will love every second of it.

I could probably find a full world map I made on graph paper somewhere when I played this on an Apple IIe.

I remember little - there was a puzzle where you had to get all the rows and columns to add up to the same number, a town where all male characters died pretty quickly (and from what I could tell, no penalty to having an all-female party), some castle up in the upper left corner of the world with ridiculous instakill enemies but incredible loot (Arch Devil? Demon Lord?)... I really wanted the Adamantium Axe to be the best weapon in the game but it just wasn't.

I never solved it. I have to think I had one of the highest level parties anyone had in that game, but I couldn't figure out all the puzzles. In a pre-internet age, that was a dead end.

That's it, all the rest is gone, I think. Man, would I drive my family nuts if I picked this up again.

Wait a minute... automapping? Maps in the manual? WTF man, I spent forever mapping that ****.

I got a few hours in and realized I didn’t have a Cleric in my party. This is one of those game where you’re swapping out party members for different scenarios.

Playing the genesis version because it has much better graphics, sound and interface.

Downside is it lacks the feature/code that allows you to protect your weaker party members in the rear. In this the enemies just take turns right down the line no matter what.

 

[need2know]

Spider man 2 looks awesome

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

I beat Cyberpunk when it came out.... I enjoyed it - not sure I'd go back to it

The DLC alone is worth it. They also changed so much of the skill trees and character stuff and with all the things that actually work now, it's almost like a sequel to the original release.

May have to get back into it. This is my type of open world game. My biggest problem when it first came out is that you start out with a cool friend/companion, a truly interesting fixer (a very well voice acted quest giver) and a support hacker feeding you intel (bug) and a hot/interesting client and then -spoiler alert - they all die right off the bat. I seriously could have played an entire game getting jobs from Dexter (even if some were busts or double crosses) and running around with Jackie Welles (and Bug).

 

[Scoresman]

I beat Cyberpunk when it came out.... I enjoyed it - not sure I'd go back to it

The DLC alone is worth it. They also changed so much of the skill trees and character stuff and with all the things that actually work now, it's almost like a sequel to the original release.

May have to get back into it. This is my type of open world game. My biggest problem when it first came out is that you start out with a cool friend/companion, a truly interesting fixer (a very well voice acted quest giver) and a support hacker feeding you intel (bug) and a hot/interesting client and then -spoiler alert - they all die right off the bat. I seriously could have played an entire game getting jobs from Dexter (even if some were busts or double crosses) and running around with Jackie Welles (and Bug).

Well Keanu Reeves is kinda hot and he comes into play right after all that…

 

[jm192]

I recently finished Batman Arkaham City. I have Arkham Knight installed, but it's going to wait a bit.

Mario Wonder and Spiderman 2 dropped on the 20th.

I'm sure once I get going, Spiderman 2 will be epic. But so far I've spent more time on Mario.

Mario Wonder is SUPER impressive. It's such a massive leap from the New Super Mario Bros line.

After Spiderman 2 and Mario Wonder, I'll probably start Tears of the Kingdom.

 

[jm192]

I'll also add: I've held off on getting some games in hopes of finding some Black Friday deals.

Jedi Survivor is the biggest thing that comes to mind. Maybe Assassin's Creed.

The Playstation and Xbox stores have also had some great deals in the past.

 

[Capella]

Mario Wonder is so good that I started playing Spidey 2 and after 10 minutes went back to Mario. And I looooooove Spider-Man.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

I'm like a quarter of the way into Act III in Baldur's Gate 3. A little over 100 hours so far.

I'll need a palate-cleanser after I finally finish this one (by Thanksgiving maybe?) but I definitely want to replay this one and make mostly evil choices next time.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I'm like a quarter of the way into Act III in Baldur's Gate 3. A little over 100 hours so far.

I'll need a palate-cleanser after I finally finish this one (by Thanksgiving maybe?) but I definitely want to replay this one and make mostly evil choices next time.

The first time I ever went evil was Fallout New Vegas. Changed gaming for me forever. Always evil now.


Chaotic Evil FTW

 

[Master of Past and Present]

Finished Days Gone. If I was to make a baseline for a game to be good enough to finish but not good enough to want more this might be it. Does enough well to be fun but nothing great enough to need more of it.

 

[need2know]

Spider man 2 is the best super hero game ever

 

[Scoresman]

GTA 6 trailer coming out in a few weeks. Some financial forecast is predicting the game to be release sometime between March 2024 and April 2025.

 

[orcinus]

Dipping a toe into Starfield ....

 

[jobarules]

BOTH my son's PS5 controllers started drifting today. How is that possible? Any ideas how to fix? I tried resetting controllers, turning off Bluetooth, cleaning them, making sure they were updated, etc. No luck. I just got a second PS5 yesterday and they drift on both. Very strange coincidence.

 

[Poke_4_Life]

So it looks like Cyberpunk 2077 is $50 and the DLC is $30. I think I'll wait for a complete edition for $50-60.

Cyberpunk base game is discounted on PS store for $29.99. Price good until tomorrow.

I went ahead and got it but haven't started yet.

 

[need2know]

been playing blasphemous 1 and 2. never heard of these when these came out. these are great old school metroidvanias. highly recommend if you like the genre