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 Posted: Thu, 31st Mar 2022 11:05 Post subject: |
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That Vietcong game has aged pretty well and is still as atmospheric as I remember.
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| Posted: Sun, 17th Apr 2022 00:34 Post subject: |
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Elden Ring:
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NZXT S340 ELITE : EVGA Z370 FTW / [ Intel i7 8086k @4.0Ghz ][ ASUS TUF RTX 3060 Ti 8GB ][ 16GB G.Skill Trident Z @3200mhz CL16 ][ 128GB Intel760p Series + 1TB Crucial MX500 + 3TB WD RED ][ Thermaltake Toughpower PF1 650W ]
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3E74
Posts: 2559
Location: feels wrong
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ixigia
[Moderator] Consigliere
Posts: 65091
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Mon, 23rd May 2022 21:25 Post subject: |
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Psychonauts 2, a faithful sequel done right:
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ELEX 2, a faithful sequel done quite poorly. It still has its moments though and the art direction is decent, before everything tragically falls apart:
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Some more classics that were sitting in my replay(tm) backlog 
The original Half Life with the Brutal Mod ( https://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-half-life ), has a few bugs but it definitely improves the shooting and feedback by also implementing dismemberment and iron sights. I used some HD textures on top of it ( https://www.moddb.com/mods/half-life-resrced-hd-graphics-mod ) as well as the usual Reshade for faux GI. As for the game itself there's not much to say, it's very much timeless with its quality linear design and ye ol' noninvasive storytelling.
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Another great one, Hidden and Dangerous 2. It's fully playable out of the box (only requires the widescreen fix) and combines PC-centric first or third-person action with a pretty thorough campaign, a tactical view, semi-open maps, optional stealth and in some cases even different ways to complete your objectives, all the good stuff.
It's hands down the most authentic/immersive WWII shooter and the Mafia engine holds up well, but that's not a surprise. Similarly to Vietcong the only issue is the bipolar AI, though that doesn't hamper the experience too much. This formula would be perfect to replicate and expand properly...too bad modern companies are absolutely inept 
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The original Ghost Recon (RTGI'd), a relict from the era when Ubisoft was a respectable company and the Clancy brand wasn't Calancy yet. Although it's an inferior experience to the following GRAW 1 and 2 on PC, its emphasis on methodical action and tactical positioning of the squads is still good. The enemies can be pretty unforgiving as well if you don't rely on save scumming, making every small move count.
The story is over-the-top and 100% fictional, I mean what are the odds that Russia's asshole ultranationalist president one day brutally invades Ukraine and the other Baltic states with the purpose of recreating the former Soviet Union? 
This mod is also handy if you want more realism and missions (there are 300 of them): https://www.moddb.com/mods/heroes-unleashed
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Grand Prix Legends, another oldie that still hasn't lost its charm. Both the physics and visuals hold up nicely for a game released in 1998, and it's playable on modern systems thanks to this: http://www.gplworld.de/en/grand-prix-legends/gpl-installer
The big downside is that the framerate is capped to 36fps *sad trombone* - there is a 60fps patch available but sadly it disables the AI, which ultimately makes the modded Assetto Corsa the best option when it comes to playing some F1 from the 60s.
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Soldier of Fortune (RTGI'd), still one of the very best linear no-bullshit first-person shooters out there. The story is hilariously D-tier, but both the pacing and meaty combat are rock-solid and timeless. The shotgun is especially legendary with its oomphy sound and the ability to cut limbs off in industrial quantities. Just grab the repacked game with all the updates et voilà: https://www.moddb.com/games/soldier-of-fortune/downloads/soldier-of-fortune-community-edition-v62
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| Posted: Wed, 8th Jun 2022 19:27 Post subject: |
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Ixi's post reminded me I had Requiem: Avenging Angel on the PC so I finally played it after 23 years. It was on the cover of the first PC magazine I bought but never got to play it until 2 weeks ago.
It's about Fallen Angels trying to take over the Universe so God sends his loyal Angry Angels to finish them off (apparently you play as the 6th Angel while the other 5 already failed the mission). Apart from the usual handgun, machine gun, shotgun, rocket/grenade launcher, sniper, railgun, you can also use magic powers such as lightning, mosquito swarm, time stop, haste, heal and many others. So the gameplay is kind of a mix between Quake and Elder Scrolls but levels are more straightforward/corridor like in Quake.
And I really like how some murals look in this game, probably scanned from dev concepts.
The game itself has 2 graphic modes - 3dfx and D3D. Now here's the trick. The first one has highest resolution of 1024x768 and looks terrible on widescreen (it's ugly stretched). Also screens get cropped and become useless. The D3D mode has 1920x1080 and looks much nicer but is also terribly bugged - now only models glitch, but some missions can't be progressed (need to either repeat the level or save often) and crashes regularly. I managed to finish with the bugged mode but it was a pain. Added to the highest difficulty where enemies are so much bullet sponges that I wondered at the beginning if that's not part of the bugs...
Anyway here's some of the hundred or so screens I made (really nice that you can press F10 and screen is auto saved in the game directory even without the HUD if used in D3D).
Also including the local's PC magazine cover which is ugly af compared to the original disc cover (also in the screens below).
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3E74
Posts: 2559
Location: feels wrong
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ixigia
[Moderator] Consigliere
Posts: 65091
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Thu, 14th Jul 2022 23:19 Post subject: |
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| Photish wrote: | I so miss the old days 
Thank you for the pics Ixi <3 |
Likewise, over the past few years I've replayed so many classics and absolutely enjoyed most of them as if time didn't have any effect. I thought the rose-tinted-glasses variable could affect my experience, but despite the ageing mechanics, visuals/animations and whatnot, it definitely didn't - which is a testament to the games' greatness and timelessness.
Deus Ex GMDX, Dragon Age Origins, Fallout 1/2 and NV, HL 1/2, System Shock 2, the Splinter Cell trilogy and all the Hitmen, KOTOR 1/2, Thief 1/2, the classic Tomb Raider series, NOLF 1/2, SWAT 4, Severance and dozens of others (with many still sitting in the backlog, including the good ol' Morrowind, BG 1/2 and Gothic 1/2)..damn good stuff men.
@PredOborG: nice, I never finished it either back in the day (for the reasons that you mentioned) but it indeed had potential on paper. Almost like Messiah, though I remember liking that one. Judging from its state and the way it (doesn't) run on modern systems, I guess things will stay that way 
More goldies!
Drakan: Order of the Flame, a rather underrated gem from 99 in which you get to ride your pet dragon and roast them pesky goblins, zero fucks given. It also combines classic melee action with free exploring and a genuinely good atmosphere. The writing is extra-cheesy, there is of course jank involved and the last few hours are a bit too much on the annoying side, but it's still enjoyable. A community patch is required to make the game run flawlessly on modern systems: https://www.arokhslair.net/wp/downloads/
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Alice, RTGI'd and with the HD mod: https://www.nexusmods.com/americanmcgeesalice/mods/1
Still pleasant to play and very inspired in terms of design, it's simple but free from guidance which means you can actually die while platforming - an inconceivable concept to most modern games. Doesn't overstay its welcome either, unlike its sequel.
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Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2 (again RTGI'd and with the HD pack: https://www.moddb.com/mods/heavy-metal-fakk-2-retextured/addons/heavy-metal-fakk-2-retextured )
Another nice action game built on the ol' Q3 engine that comes with some interesting aesthetics and ideas, though most of its mechanics remain unfulfilled. It's janky and the story is cheesy (deja-vu!), but it does its job well as a time waster. Bonus points for Julie's smokin' body and anti-Resetera sexist(tm) outfits 
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Medal of Honor Allied Assault with the usual faux rays and a few mods to spice things up: https://www.moddb.com/mods/enhanced-textures/downloads/enhanced-textures + https://www.moddb.com/mods/mrw-medal-of-honor-allied-assault-edition/downloads/mrw-mohaa-20 (includes iron sights) + Covert's Blood Mod (definitely necessary since the vanilla game is sanitized)
Solid straightforward action romp with the right mix of realism and arcade - sans modern cinederpmatic bits, the old way. Pretty timeless. The sound effects and orchestral music are especially noteworthy.
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FEAR (RTGI'd) with the HD texture pack: https://www.moddb.com/mods/fear-xp-rivarez-mod/downloads/fear-hd-textures-lite-pack (the full one was causing crashes for me)
Still an absolute blast after all these years. Free-flowing mouse-centric gunplay, no cinematic handholding, decent interactivity and ragdoll physics, responsive AI, unique (albeit a tad repetitive) level design, it's got the full package. It really is the only FEAR that's worth replaying, though.
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Aliens vs Predator 2, reshaded as per usual and with the basic fixes applied (just follow PCGamingWiki's steps). It has aged well both in terms of immersion and gameplay, levels are linear but there's no handholding, the orchestral music is rather iconic. All the three short campaigns (horror-centric Marine/kickass Predator/panther Alien) are still enjoyable with their specific mechanics, the campy writing is interconnected as well and it's quite interesting to see the same events from three different perspectives.
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And Elden Ring as well, the complete set. Every screenshot could be the cover of a metal album 
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| Posted: Sat, 16th Jul 2022 10:04 Post subject: |
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Damn, those Allied Assault shots look sweet and much better than the vanilla game. I love the whole gunplay there, the crunchiness of the guns, how they feel, sound. The animations for them, when he's reloading the sniper rifle he pushes the gun down a bit as he slides the bullets in the chamber and so on. Small details that make the game what it is.
Next FEAR replay use this mod
https://www.moddb.com/mods/fear-mmod
The way the weapons sound in this mod with headphones, how they feel. No peer. I'd shoot weapons at nothing just to hear them when playing this mod
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ixigia
[Moderator] Consigliere
Posts: 65091
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Sat, 16th Jul 2022 18:27 Post subject: |
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| qqq wrote: | Damn, those Allied Assault shots look sweet and much better than the vanilla game. I love the whole gunplay there, the crunchiness of the guns, how they feel, sound. The animations for them, when he's reloading the sniper rifle he pushes the gun down a bit as he slides the bullets in the chamber and so on. Small details that make the game what it is.
Next FEAR replay use this mod
https://www.moddb.com/mods/fear-mmod
The way the weapons sound in this mod with headphones, how they feel. No peer. I'd shoot weapons at nothing just to hear them when playing this mod |
Thanks! I wasn't aware that the guy responsible for HL2's MMod had made one earlier for FEAR, it was a massive improvement on the vanilla experience gunplay-wise (to the point that now it's impossible to go back). I look forward to doing another run through Alma's offices *soon-ish* |
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3E74
Posts: 2559
Location: feels wrong
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ixigia
[Moderator] Consigliere
Posts: 65091
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Sat, 19th Nov 2022 18:05 Post subject: |
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Another batch of golden oldies!
Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast RTGI'd and with the basic fixes applied, just follow PCGamingwiki's steps for widescreen/full dismemberment (mandatory )/better crosshair et voilà. I used this mod as well for the improved special effects: https://www.moddb.com/mods/jk2-fx-mod
An absolute classic from when third-person action games were designed with the mouse in mind, using the good ol' Q3 engine and featuring all the tricks that you would expect from a Jedi. It does have a few annoying trial-and-error platforming sections but the atmosphere, level design and actual core gameplay are rock-solid. The story is serviceable enough to keep the action going and there is absolutely zero handholding, as it should always be.
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Red Faction, again Reshaded and with the HD textures applied: https://www.moddb.com/games/red-faction/addons/red-faction-ai-upscale-textures
It's still pleasant and atmospheric, albeit rather flat gameplay-wise. The GEOmod was both impressive for the time (dat shattering glass) and criminally underused inside the levels, especially in the final part where the game drops the ball. It never gets as bad as its consolized sequel though, which was and will always be a complete lost cause. This is one of the few titles that could actually benefit from a remaking job, but it must be a proper one and that's probably not an option.
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I've also replayed Commandos 2 after ~20 years and unsurprisingly, it's still brilliant. There are a few instances where the AI goes rogue and the pathfinding isn't optimal to put it mildly (especially when escorting all the sailors and NPCs that love getting stuck in the least accessible places *shakes fist*) but the core experience is still unsurpassed. Although the modern Commandos-like games from Mimimi are very good as well, they lack the depth and variety of this one, along with the inventory system and the possibility to actually murder folks in creative ways.
The engine doesn't properly support widescreen resolutions, so the only option is to use a custom upscaled and slightly stretched one since the remasturd sadly is a disgrace. The HD Project is probably the best alternative, but I encountered some technical issues with it which made me stick to the vanilla version + Reshade through dgVoodoo2.
Some of the iconic backgrounds:
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Speaking of old-school WWII sneaking business, Death to Spies (RTGI'd and with the Community Patch that fixes some bugs and adds them nazi symbols: https://www.moddb.com/mods/death-to-spies-enhancement-addon )
Very very strict if you want to get a rating higher than Professional, but perfectly doable otherwise with just a few concessions and extra dead bodies. It's Hitman's cousin, less sandbox-y but more stealth-focused: you have to study the enemies' routes carefully, isolate your target and strike with infallible timing, the good stuff. There are rough bits here and there because of the low budget and the disguise system sadly is designed to go hand in hand with the mini-map, but the AI is competent, the atmosphere is authentic and the missions are varied enough.
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Morrowind (OpenMW + MGEXE), which I started replaying some months ago and at this rate, I will probably finish it by the time TES VI is released. It's mostly vanilla aside from some minor QoL mods and a few graphical improvements since I love how the untouched game looks with its clean, desolate and mysterious alien-like environments.
As for the game itself, although there are elements that objectively do feel quite ancient and don't match the modded Skyrim, it's still timeless in many ways - from the stellar atmosphere/immersion to the lore, freedom to complete tasks in more than one way along with the actual quests' structure. No silly markers or arrows, just a nifty journal, a lot of hiking and thousands of bloody Cliffracers 
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| Posted: Sat, 19th Nov 2022 23:36 Post subject: |
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Nice ones there, Red Faction is looking really good with those HD textures.
I remember Death to Spies, the first one was very hard to play but back then the only alternative to Hitman games. I kinda gave up midway though because it is too unfair and broken. Maybe the mod makes it more playable?
Death to Spies: Moment of Truth, the sequel is much better. It's a shorter game, but in contrast to the first it copied the old Hitman formula very well.
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ixigia
[Moderator] Consigliere
Posts: 65091
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Sun, 20th Nov 2022 00:22 Post subject: |
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| PredOborG wrote: | Those Commandos 2 screens look damn amazing, wtf! And that's not modded aside from ReShade?!? 
I recently tried playing the first game but it felt so slow and somewhat irresponsive.  Should try it again. |
Aye indeed, the first Commandos is more rudimentary than the sequel and overall, it definitely feels more difficult/strict. It's essentially like a puzzle game in disguise whereas Commandos 2 offers a bit more freedom and options.
I simply used the widescreen .exe from here: https://sites.google.com/site/xbootx/home/commandos2 , applied dgVoodoo 2 for the DX8->DX11 compatibility and finally Reshade (DPX to reduce the yellow-ish tint + FXAA + FidelityFX sharpening). There is the HD Project mod that does a similar thing (and more), you might want to try that as well if the default method doesn't work for you.
| Shocktrooper wrote: | Nice ones there, Red Faction is looking really good with those HD textures.
I remember Death to Spies, the first one was very hard to play but back then the only alternative to Hitman games. I kinda gave up midway though because it is too unfair and broken. Maybe the mod makes it more playable?
Death to Spies: Moment of Truth, the sequel is much better. It's a shorter game, but in contrast to the first it copied the old Hitman formula very well. |
The mod fixes some of the occasional psychic AI behaviours, though the actual enemy placement and missions' structure both remain unaltered for the most part. The last few levels (especially the final one) can indeed be unnerving since the game offers you limited options with risible time windows and leaving no traces at all requires a ton of trial and error. The best way to deal with that is to ignore the ratings and eventually cheese your way out of the sticky situations when necessary by piling up some bodies. I never played the sequel back in the day but that sounds good, I'll definitely give it a go in the future. |
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| Posted: Sun, 20th Nov 2022 11:06 Post subject: |
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Those 'Commandos 2' shots are absolutely looking like a piece of art, man.
What beautiful soul that game has...
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ixigia
[Moderator] Consigliere
Posts: 65091
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Fri, 24th Feb 2023 01:53 Post subject: |
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More oldies!
I finally got around to modding the glorious Raven Shield properly, it's a rather straightforward process as long as one follows this guide: https://www.moddb.com/games/tom-clancys-rainbow-six-3-raven-shield/tutorials/guide-to-install-a-heavily-modded-raven-shield-for-single-player
It requires the Gold version + Athena Sword + Iron Wrath (included in the link) and combines all the major mods (2.1/SupplyDrop/ECT) along with improvements of all sorts. I also used the optional custom visor for the extra immersion and applied some Reshade with the UE tonemapper. There are still many low-res textures and ancient models, but the results are quite nice. Just like SWAT 4, the game is timeless with its depth and replayability, right before the modern Calancyian aberrations arrived and spoiled the party.
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The original Crysis + Warhead, aka Orlytek's swansong. Always a pleasant experience, I applied the usual tweaks to enable POM, better LOD and so on along with this texture pack which is relatively noninvasive: https://www.moddb.com/mods/crysis-maximum-immersion-mod
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The good ol' Mafia that I replayed some time ago, with the pack that improves the UI and adds widescreen support: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2083313382
I actually prefer the vanilla look over the Community ModPack (which changes too many textures in my opinion), I also added some RTGI thanks to dgVoodoo2's wrappers as per usual. As for the game itself, there's not much to say, it's very much a milestone in my book and definitely a superior experience to the recent Reboomake.
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The rough Trespasser beast, with the CE patch that enables dx9 and adds special effects/widescreen support + the usual faux GI. It's a bit tricky but here's the how-to:
- Grab both the ISOdemo and the Starter Kit, which includes the patch: https://www.trescom.org/download/trespasser-2020-a-trespasser-modding-starter-kit/ (the ATX folder isn't needed unless you want to load some custom levels)
- Copy the data folder from the iso into Tres CE\mods\Trespasser\data
- Edit the tpmod.ini file inside Tres CE so that ActiveFM=Trespasser is the only active one
- Start the game from TresCE.exe
The game will forever have wonky controls and unfulfilled mechanics, still, you can tell that its primitive walking sim/shooter hybrid formula with realistic physics was very cutting edge for the time, so much so that it does actually feels like a modern VR game. It's short and the level design is rather simplistic, but the atmosphere is genuinely good.
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Nascar Racing 2003 from the mighty Papyrus men, twenty years old and still the best Murican oval racing sim out there. Automobilista 2 is getting there, though this game's moddable engine is legendary and its content is potentially endless. I mostly went with the vanilla cars which are surprisingly challenging to drive despite...well the pansy racing in circles thing
All the goodies can be found here: https://wildkustomcars.weebly.com/misc-files.html
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____________________________
And some bits from Wasteland 3 - imperfect, yet it's one of the (new) games that I enjoyed the most in the last couple of years:
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ixigia
[Moderator] Consigliere
Posts: 65091
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Thu, 11th May 2023 03:32 Post subject: |
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Since tripe-y A gaming keeps soiling its pants and there's virtually nothing so far that makes me want to upgrade, another batch of trusty golden oldies
NOLF, fixed to run on modern systems and ready to go: http://nolfrevival.tk/ + the faithful HD texture pack: https://www.gamepressure.com/download.asp?ID=81191 as well as some RTGI to complete the circle as per usual.
Its dry humour and all the dialogues are still absolutely on point (a brilliantly pulled-off Cate vs The Patriarchy ), going hand in hand with the many inspired locations and their bizarre characters. The core mechanics work well too - except for panthering around which is both unreliable and fundamentally broken on some levels. The sequel fixed that, unfortunately though only a full-on remake could take care of the issue here and..well we're talking about science fiction. Not all the ideas are fully developed but it's always admirable when a game tries to bring new things to the table, which barely happens anymore.
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Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, another golden oldie made with the PC in mind. It works out of the box and doesn't require anything else, except for the Large Address Aware patch in order to prevent crashes.
The game brims with atmosphere from start to finish, with the dynamic combat system powered by Source's wild physics. You can become an unstoppable warrior by kicking orcs 'n goblins' asses and impaling them on the many environmental traps, or you can choose the thief/mage path and sneak around until it's time to unleash multiple lethal spells like there's no tomorrow.
The balance isn't perfect since Normal is too easy while Hard is too sponge-y, the story is on the cheesy B movie-like spectrum (props to the simp queens  ) and the final levels drag a bit, but it's still a remarkable and rather timeless action game. Linear but of the good kind.
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GTA San Andreas Definitive Ghetto Edition, which I actually never got to finish back then. It's not the dreadful version made by Rockstar's outsourced interns of course but the original one with plenty of mods and fixes: https://www.definitive-edition-project.com/sa-de + I installed the first-person mod which works well with it: https://www.gtainside.com/en/sanandreas/mods/117753-first-person-v3-0-fixed/
The game suffers from the consolish sins of its time, several missions are plagued by Rockstar's signature extra-strict scripting and the narrative structure is shaped like a hood Picasso on cocaine, but it's nice to play it as intended with 60fps, better UI, textures/LOD, lighting and so on. Still, it's a shame that laziness and incompetence prevailed as the classic trilogy would have deserved the proper RAGE treatment with Euphorian goodies and all, but alas. All you had to do was follow the damn train!
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The mighty Thief 2, with the T2Fix: https://www.moddb.com/mods/t2fix + the HD texture mod: https://www.moddb.com/mods/thief-2-hd-texture-mod and dgVoodoo2 for full compatibility with Reshade/RTGI. A timeless experience that oozes immersion from all the pores, a concept that sadly seems unknown to most modern developers.
Similarly to Deus Ex, System Shock 2 and the like, although there are obvious technical limitations (animations, combat system) all the gameplay elements with their depth are perfectly tuned and enjoyable, adding a great layer of replayability to the mix. PC-centric controls, completely cine-free freedom, complex level design with AI that reacts to sounds coming from different surfaces, full moddability, all the good stuff that we'll likely never see ever again. It's tough to choose between Thief Gold's magical and almost horror-like setting and Thief 2's Steampunkish atmosphere, but the latter wins for me - thanks to missions such as the Bank, Shipping and Receiving, Blackmail, Framed, and the brilliant Life at the Party (not a big fan of the last few missions ).
I still remember being disappointed by Thief 3 back in the day because of its consolization and related gimping, but after the insulting Thi4f and the general death of stealth games, even that one's probably a very decent experience by today's rotten standards. I'll have to replay it too with the Sneaky Upgrade *soon*
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Some new stuff with Everspace 2, derivative and excessively arcade yet entertaining in its own way. Bonus points for the nice vistas:
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ixigia
[Moderator] Consigliere
Posts: 65091
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Fri, 18th Aug 2023 21:20 Post subject: |
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BG3 needs to spend more time in the oven as per Swenian tradition, so I pressed the isopause button and took the opportunity to tackle more oldies that were sitting inside the big replay(tm) sack
Finally finished my full Light Side playthrough of the heavily modded KOTOR 2, saving and helping out everybody like a good Jedi samaritan. I used the classic TSLRCM mod: https://deadlystream.com/files/file/578-tsl-restored-content-mod/ as well as all the goodies such as HD textures from this guy: https://www.nexusmods.com/users/28882540?tab=user+files&BH=0 , UI fixes: https://deadlystream.com/files/file/332-widescreen-ui-fix-for-knights-of-the-old-republic-2-the-sith-lords/ and a ton more from both Nexus and Deadlystream, plus some RTGI.
The first few hours are still on the bland side and the balance is imperfect (to put it mildly  ), plus some of the new additions are so-so and there are bugs left even with the community mod + tweaks, but once the game takes off it becomes a pleasure. Definitely more enjoyable than the vanilla counterpart, which was sadly left unfinished. It's less conventionally Star Wars-y than KOTOR 1 and still visibly lacks polish, but the writing is darker, varied and interesting enough to provide plenty of jaded tones, quests filled with moral choices and pseudo-philosophical subjects. Including the companions, with Kreia being the highlight of the series in terms of lore and complexity.
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Thief 3 with the Sneaky Upgrade https://www.moddb.com/mods/thief-3-sneaky-upgrade , mandatory in order to remove some of its consolitis and add many fixes. Sadly, after replaying the first two timeless games this sequel definitely leaves a sour taste, just as I remembered: too many small levels with limited freedom, a ton of backtracking, no swimming, no rope arrows and so on. Back when multiplatform games saw their maximum level of streamlinization, as the pansy Invisible War can also illustrate 
However, when compared to most modern tripe-y stuff even a gimped Thief suddenly becomes acceptable, as the core experience works reasonably well and the atmosphere is remarkable. If anything, it's still possible to jump and the story isn't a complete cringe-fest (looking at you, Thi4f!). Thank the Pagans for the mighty The Dark Mod though, the true sequel to Thief 1/2.
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Anachronox, the only jRPG that I could ever stomach (..but just barely ). It requires the widescreen fix https://www.moddb.com/games/anachronox/downloads/anachronox-widescreen-fix and it looks much better with the HD pack https://www.moddb.com/games/anachronox/addons/chunckis-4x-ai-upscaled-anachronox-level-textures + some RTGI for ambient occlusion and whatnot. It's pretty curious how it uses the Q2 engine in unconventional ways by adding some cinematic tricks to it as well.
It's a charming experience with its bizarre humour, the oddly interesting characters and alien worlds to explore, however it does have several design decisions that tamper the ride such as the heavy backtracking, some awkward point 'n click sections and the very mundane combat that reminded me why I never finished the game back in the day.
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The good ol' SWAT 3, fully playable on modern systems thanks to this mod: https://www.moddb.com/games/swat-3/addons/last-resort-v074 (get the GOG version though since Gabe's one is broken), plus some faux HDR through Reshade + dgVoodoo2.
It doesn't reach the greatness of SWAT 4 + Elite Force Mod of course since its controlling scheme feels a tad more cumbersome than it should be and the game is more action-oriented (not too dissimilar from Rogue Spear), but it's still very much enjoyable. Solid level design with top-notch atmosphere, pretty reactive AI for the time and the satisfying loop of its successor is already fully implemented.
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Another timeless oldie, the legendary Operation Flashpoint + Resistance. Although its core mechanics aren't as evolved as the sequels and the visuals are of course on the vintage side, the game oozes atmosphere and its campaigns are as immersive as ever - definitely superior to ArmA's ones. I still remember how ridiculously the game felt like in 2001 with the sandbox-y areas, all the vehicles and the nice variety of missions, not to mention the editor which was a treat.
There are ghetto remakes for ArmA 2/3 too, but I definitely prefer how the original looks and plays - perhaps it's just nostalgia speaking but it all just comes together naturally. I just applied the community patch + FOV tool ( https://forums.bohemia.net/forums/topic/215749-unofficial-patch-arma-resistance-201/ + https://github.com/rex706/ArmA-FOV-Changer ), some RTGI and a few minor texture mods in order to keep it as vanilla as possible.
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And Shodanmake, the faithful facelift that the glorious System Shock deserved with all the advantages coming from a modern engine with fancy animations and lighting.
I find it bittersweet though that a remake of a 1994 game is practically the best immersive sim released in the past six-seven years (with DXMD and Prey being the last great ones). We could have had a potentially groundbreaking System Shock 3 by now, a Prey 2 where old Arkane from a parallel universe unleash their talent once more, or the proper conclusion to Jensen's saga, instead the genre's been swallowed by the popamole couch monster. Let's hope for a resurgence...against all odds!
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ixigia
[Moderator] Consigliere
Posts: 65091
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Thu, 18th Jan 2024 18:59 Post subject: |
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A batch of consolish third-person games for the sake of completeness:
Red Dead Redemption (Ryujinx + m/kb mod + Reshade), the only reasonable way to finally play the game on PC for the first time. It's a classic Rockstar experience, which means having a simplistic mission design comprised of shooting galleries, 'go to X' and signature FOLLOW, however, the Euphorian gunplay itself is satisfying and the world feels authentic despite the vintage concessions. It's more rudimentary than RDR2 and the story includes several bizarre GTA-esque characters, but beneath the humorous bits, there are both genuinely charming and bluntly dramatic moments.
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Alpha Protocol, with all the fixes and little mods to remove some of the vanilla consolitis and make the game playable on PC. Widescreen Fixer + PCGamingWiki's tweaks + all these mods https://www.moddb.com/mods/alpha-protocol-improved et voilà!
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It's still a flawed experience where neither panthering nor Ramboing work particularly well because of the daft AI and lack of basic stealth features/proper level design, there are rough sections in it and the story has some awkwardly cheesy D-rated moments, but the game is so engaging with its C&C-based reactiveness and unique Bond-esque atmosphere that the pros outweigh the cons. Kudos to its writing style that would be considered highly inappropriate by today's standards
Last of Us Remustarded, which is in a reasonably decent state these days after that embarrassing initial release. As for the game itself, it's a semi-automatized cine-adventure that fails at proposing interesting gameplay mechanics and doesn't deserve the praise that it got, but the actual storytelling and related atmosphere are rather remarkable. *it's something*
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Alan Wake 2, atmospheric and technically competent as per Remedy tradition. Although the gameplay itself never goes beyond serviceable and the writing is so redundant that it feels like the game suffers from Alzheimer's, the supernatural package works fairly well for what it is.
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Danyutz
Posts: 4418
Location: Redplanet
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| Posted: Thu, 18th Jan 2024 19:55 Post subject: |
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photos don't work ixi
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konkol84
Posts: 3679
Location: Po(o)land
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ixigia
[Moderator] Consigliere
Posts: 65091
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Fri, 19th Jan 2024 16:22 Post subject: |
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Oh snap
It seems I've clogged the Humps with too many screenshots since the pics are up and their size has been optimized beforehand as well. It's probably because the site still loads every single spoiler so in order to see the most recent ones some time is required, as well as a refresh or two or three. The alternative is to either use thumbnails instead of direct links, or drastically reduce the jpg quality (pixelization ahoy).
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Danyutz
Posts: 4418
Location: Redplanet
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| Posted: Sat, 20th Jan 2024 15:18 Post subject: |
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Worked now, all good sexy picz! <3
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| Page 136 of 137 |
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