gnome rambles about games that have been out for a while

[gnome]

So I just felt like commenting on "Borderlands 2" which I've been playing a ton of lately.

I enjoy the atmosphere of the game, the sort of irreverent post-apocalyptic setting you might get if you combined Mad Max and Tank Girl.

It's sort like a single player (or up to 4, cooperatively) RPG but almost an MMO style open setting, as opposed to being "on rails" like with Half-Life. It has recurring NPC "mobs", except that the quest lines are not as boring as most MMOs. They are interesting and move a story along, and give you good assistance--you don't find yourself saying "what the fuck am I supposed to do next?" If anything it may give too much assistance but it doesn't seem to take away from the game since it is more action-oriented.

Fun FPS style fighting, interesting characters and dialog. VERY diverse weapons selections. There are weapons and character builds for multiple and useful styles of fighting. Personally I run a Mechnomancer that uses sniping a lot and summons a pet fighting robot if I can't keep enough enemies off me.

Good use of vehicles too--you will have a lot of fun driving and shooting from vehicles. With two people you can even have a driver/gunner dynamic--though even single player you can easily make full use of the combat capabilities.

Some caveats-- there is little sense of "Completing" areas, because the mobs keep respawning, without (as far as I can tell) a dynamic to have them leave you alone in low-level areas if you've leveled up enough. Having some mobs "go grey" as you level up instead of all of them staying aggro would be a nice convenience.

TTC: (Time to Crate)-- pretty much zero. There are crates EVERYWHERE and you will spend a silly amount of time just opening random crates to replenish ammo, gather cash, and look for rare equipment. That actually DOES detract from the game a little, but at least they stand out and it's easy to tell at a glance if one is unopened with stuff in it.

Not much visual diversity in characters. For example, the Mechnomancer is always female, and always has about the same outfit and profile. You can select from a variety of color sets (and unlock others), but ultimately it's just a diverse palette on the same outfit. You wind up with a few different head options for each class but that's about it.

I say the dialog is interesting, and by that I mean it's written well and has good voice acting. You don't have conversation choices, and unfriendly NPCs and boss characters don't stop and parlay, they just yell things and try to kill you. At least the supervillain (Handsome Jack) sends you taunts through your communicator now and then.

Saving is by checkpoint (probably an artifact of porting to PC from console), and they also serve as respawn points when you die. Dying is inconvenient enough that you try to avoid it, but checkpoints are plentiful and well placed. I thought I would be frustrated that I couldn't engage in "save scumming", but I've barely noticed.

Despite its weaknesses, I have been playing it like crazy, so when you add it all up it's a really good game. There is also a bunch of DLC and different game modes that I've barely explored. Plus it's got some weird thing where you can scan random product codes (like at a Target or grocery store) with your smartphone and it becomes in-game equipment. Not like you scan a box fan and you get a box fan in game--more like you scan a box fan and get a submachine gun that shoots explody rounds in-game.

[Doctor X]

https://media.giphy.com/media/7izvpUrQVlUVG/giphy.gif

--J.D.

[Anaxagoras]

Never played anything in the Borderlands franchise myself. Sounds like a fine game, I just don't have the time to play more than a few per year.

What I'm into these days, and have been for some time is World of Tanks. It's a multiplayer online game. Not super realistic, but fun. You can play by yourself or with friends. It will randomly assign you to one team or the other, and the teams tend to be fairly evenly matched, at least on paper although matches can sometimes have lopsided outcomes. Usually it's 15 tanks on each side, but sometimes smaller teams. You earn silver and experience by playing and can use the silver to upgrade your tank. I'm pretty addicted for now, which is why I don't really have time for many other games. Also playing some Witcher 3 for variety when I'm feeling tanked out.

[gnome]

Bump for showing off my creative GENIUS of showing one thing but with different music.

Borderlands 3 intro with music from The Dead South, "In Hell I'll Be In Good Company"

http://www.youdubber.com/index.php?vide ... io_start=5

[gnome]

Pretty good, but then there's Epic Pinball:

[robinson]

Borderlands has been my favorite for a decade now

Wow, just realized that

Full disclosure, since going back to work I have no time or energy to play

[ed]

Got this recently
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com ... L1500_.jpg
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BH ... UTF8&psc=1
Plays all the old NES and Super NES games. I anticipate grave dissapointment. We shall see.

I still play Gothic G2 and G3. There are groups in poland and Russia still writing big mods for them

Skyrim, Elix, and I forget the other one.

Never got into the war games. I led the moody ones that were more puzzles.