My rule would be simple: The only ships allowed to land are those crewed by a captain who can pronounce this accent-free. Every one else gets acquainted with the business end of the Planetenverteidigungskanone.
Not all of them. In recent years, virtually all arcades have been powered by standard gaming PCs (see for example the infamous Half-Life 2 arcade). In the past, it wasn’t unheard of for some arcades to have nearly identical hardware compared to home consoles. The Neo Geo arcade for example is running the exact same code as the home console (although in this case, the arcade came first). There have also been edge-cases, like the Namco System 11, which is using only slightly modified PS1 hardware (primarily in the sound department) in order to drive down costs.
Each Sims game is quite different. The biggest difference is between Sims 1 and 2 simply due to the change from isometric 2D to 3D graphics. Not the first game in the genre to have 3D graphics and they weren’t even particularly impressive for the time nor good compared to its competitor, but the charming animations and attention to detail make it a far more enjoyable experience than the comparatively sterile predecessor. Sims 2 ended up becoming an evergreen with very long legs, to the point that people are still playing it, although it helped that EA distributed the complete version with all add-ons (the game is older than the term DLC) for free for a while (you can still find it if you know where to look).
Sims 3 was fundamentally different from Sims 2. Gone were the isolated homes of the predecessor (initially in Sims 2, you couldn’t even see your neighbors’ homes unless you were on the map screen; later they added in low-res stand-ins) and instead, it’s an open world game where you can see your Sim commute to work in real-time. Neighbors can be visited without going through a loading screen - it all feels more organic as a result. Customization saw a huge upgrade as well, the AI was improved, etc. Sounds nice in theory, but the problem was that it was too ambitious for PCs of the time. This series has traditionally attracted non-gamers who don’t deeply upgrade their machines all that often and instead play on laptops bought for homework or old rigs inherited from big brothers. Sims 1 ran on a toaster, Sims 2 on a pizza oven with some kind of GPU grafted to it - whereas Sims 3 was one of the most demanding games of its time in order to facilitate gameplay changes that few people actually asked for and rounded, bloated looking Sims that are somewhat offputting. It was still a massive success and a huge hit with modders as well, but Sims 2 remained popular due to its more focused nature, the fact that it ran on anything and the fact that it was complete with a massive library of add-ons that took years to be replicated in Sims 3.
Sims 4 reset the series back to Sims 2, but went too far initially, limiting player freedom in regards to neighborhood creation. Instanced homes returned, customization features and open world of Sims 3 were cut, the AI saw a massive improvements, Sims didn’t all look obese anymore, hardware requirements were modest again - but at the price of having incredibly intrusive DRM, an attempt to monetize the proud modding community and being very bare-bones in the beginning, requiring years of DLCs to reach feature-parity with Sims 2 and 3. IIRC, even pools - an absolutely essential part of Sims lore - were missing initially. All of the improvements to the building mechanics in particular were overshadowed by EA’s corporate nonsense. It’s come a long way since though. Just like with the predecessors, buying all DLC at once will make you poor - but the base game is free now and the actual intention is that you only buy the DLC that have features or items you care about. The modding scene is as vibrant as ever, making any non-feature DLC unnecessary anyway.
This series is an interesting and unique phenomenon. It’s a prime example of something that only ever truly works on PC. All of the many console, mobile and browser spinoffs and ports were nothing but mere blips on the radar, because fundamentally, it can only work on a platform as open as the PC. It primarily attracts female players who rarely play anything else, yet dive deep into modding and modifying every little aspect of these games like the most hardened PC nerds. It started out and still is in many ways a faksimile of ideal American suburbia, although enhanced by both some quite subversive humor and subverted by an astonishing level of player freedom that goes against the conformity of the real world - while at the same time replicating the fads, consumerism, cliques, feuds and other less wholesome aspects of the real world through its behemoth of a community. It’s ultimately a platform for individual creative expression and the worlds (both in-game and outside of it) that emerge as a result of it, a sandbox that was only ever bested by Minecraft, which literally broke everything down to its individual building blocks. Each game and its DLCs become more like car payments to seasoned players, something you pay for so that you can travel where you want to go, which in turn keeps the experience fresh, finances further development and prevents the community from getting stagnant as it has to learn to adapt to changes from the developers.
I’ll end this here. This wasn’t meant to turn into an essay and now my fingers hurt, because I typed all of this nonsense on a touchscreen.
Reminds me of my younger sibling inheriting my first PC - 486 with a 500 MB hard drive that I had assembled from several scrap computers - and trying to install this game to it. It did just about fit and there was even enough RAM (48 MB instead of the minimum 32), but the CPU wasn’t compatible, since the game required the MMX instruction set.
I wonder if this would make swapping in assets from the Xbox remaster of Conker possible/convenient. I suspect it depends more on how accessible the files of the remaster are.
It seems like every other week a game studio is massively laying off employees; sometimes after years of development. What I’m reading is that it’s a quick way to lower expenses and pad the investors’ pockets, flooding the market with developers and reducing their value, to then hire them back a few months later at lower...
So many Indie developers are making the mistake of thinking they’ll be the next [insert currently successful one-man dev here] and banking their careers and life savings on it. 99.999% of them are not.
Arkane Austin was hemorrhaging talent before and during Redfalls development. In the end, there wasn’t much left of the studio that had developed the Prey reboot. Hi Fi Rush and Evil Within are critical darlings, but the former only got its player base thanks to Game Pass and both didn’t sell enough to keep a studio of more than 130 people alive (for perspective, that’s about as many people as worked on Skyrim).
I get how sad it is to see these studios disappear and it’s of course devastating for individual employees (at least in the short term), but it isn’t all that surprising. Also keep in mind that the talent doesn’t evaporate into thin air. We as players should pay far more attention to game credits and individual developers than the studios these people are working for. Talented developers are very likely to reappear elsewhere and continue making great games.
I think the blame for the demise of these studios is at least equally shared between Zenimax, Microsoft and the studios themselves. Blaming it all on Microsoft is a bit simplistic.
Backwards compatibility is great though. It’s the most convenient way of playing console exclusives from the 360 generation in particular, especially those that run at higher resolutions now.
Palestinians are being persecuted from their homes in an ongoing genocide. Due to the armed actions of Israel, they lack access to essentials such as food, water, electricity and medical care....
It’s very disappointing to see this site funnel funds towards a highly questionable organization with close ties to Hamas and other terrorist organizations:
I’m usually accused of questioning things too much and overdoing it, so I’m not sure what to make of your attempt at trying to insult me.
I also find it peculiar that none of you decided to actually read the page and the many individual pieces of evidence that support the claim that this supposed aid organization has fundamental issues, but instead shoot the messenger (either me or NGO Watch).
If you’re interested in an Eastern European take on Bioshock/Half Life, try the Metro series instead, if you haven’t already.
If you want to play an equally fascinating and highly flawed Eurojank shooter that is actually endearing, play You Are Empty. It’s only available as abandonware and needs some tweaks to work on modern systems:
The cat is out of the bag and despite many years of warning before this and similar technology became widely available, nobody was really prepared for it - and everyone is solely acting in their own best interests (or what they think their best interests to be). I think the biggest failure is that despite there being warnings...
The only way to limit the damage is the tedious old-fashioned way: An honest debate, thorough public education, followed by laws and regulations, which are backed up by international treaties. This takes a long time however, the tech is evolving very quickly, too quickly, self-regulation isn’t working and there are lots of bad actors, from pervy individuals to certain nation states (the likes of Russia, Iran and China have used generative AI to manipulate public opinion) which need to be contained.
It’s not even that quality mods need fake voice acting. There’s a vibrant modding scene surrounding the Gothic series - and several modders managed to convince the original German voice actors to lend their voices.
I would normally not link to a tweet, but it’s from the YouTuber who is behind the global campaign that aims to prevent games companies from killing games people paid for:...
There are comparatively few worthwhile native games. Emulation is the ticket. I would focus on portable consoles - from GameBoy (mostly GBA) to PSP - since the design of titles for these systems is better suited to smaller screens and shorter play sessions.
There’s such a vibrant modding scene, you’re missing out on a lot. It’s almost like playing a Bethesda RPG without mods. So many quality of life mods and content expansions, chief among them Stardew Valley Expanded, which feels like a professionally made DLC that seamlessly integrates itself into the game, to the point that you often aren’t sure whether what you’re seeing is from the original game or made by these modders.
The PSP is not a great platform for first person shooters in particular due to the lack of a second analog stick. There are a handful of quality third person titles though, chief among them the two GTA Stories spin-offs set in Liberty City and Vice City. These are proper classic 3D GTAs, just as sophisticated as San Andreas, but set in modified versions of the cities from the two predecessors. Both assume that you have played and completed GTA 3 and Vice City. These spin-offs were also available for PS2, but the PSP versions should run better and can be made to support a second analog stick in PPSSPP:
While you’re at it, you should also check out the isometric GTA Chinatown Wars, a unique and extremely well made title that straddles the line between 2D and 3D GTAs, but with game design that is as modern as GTA IV’s (but far more arcadey). It has been ported to Android, however, the PSP version is superior, having better graphics, more features (including multiplayer) and more missions.
One genre that truly excelled on Sony’s little system was racing games. Here’s a list of highly recommended titles of all subgenres, from arcade to simulation, that I compiled a while ago: beehaw.org/comment/2784912
Scarface: The World is Yours. Perhaps the best clone of classic GTAs, to the point that it’s the superior game in many respects. From the developers of The Simpsons Hit & Run, but decidedly less family-friendly. Brilliant graphics for the platform, outstanding voice acting, writing and direction. Watch the movie first, if you haven’t already! This very late licensed title boasts a fantastic combat system that is all about targeting specific body parts with perhaps the single best lock-on system in gaming history while hitting a button for swearing in order to fill up your “balls” meter, which, once full, allows you to switch to a first person mode with invulnerability and unlimited ammo. Combat is mad, bloody, unhinged fun. It’s not just presentation, narration and combat that are good in this game: There’s are really well made empire building mechanic, a negotiation minigame that somehow never gets old, some clever risk/reward incentives for players that remind me of roguelikes, a good (if not quite as good as GTA) open world, a catchy '80s soundtrack. Lots to love about this game.
Black: Criterion (otherwise known for the Burnout series) tried their luck with a first person shooter. It shouldn’t have worked, but they somehow pulled it off - and it’s just as wild and explosive as the racing game series. Every single weapon, from the lowliest pistol, is loud, punchy, powerful and sends the hapless enemies flying. There’s a marvelous destruction system that feels like black magic on hardware as old as the PS2. The story is nothing special, level design and scripting are average (but levels are at least fairly large and quite open at times), it’s not particularly long nor deep and there are difficulty spikes, but overall, this is still one of the most enjoyable first person shooters on the system and one that holds up remarkably well.
XIII: Based on a popular Belgian series of graphic novels, this highly stylized first person shooter has become a cult classic over the years. If you like conspiracy stories, cell-shaded graphics and a seamless blend of stealth and explosive action, then you will enjoy this game. Best feature: The kill cam, which consists of comic book style freeze frame inserts. So satisfying! Check out the comic book as well, while you’re at it. Just keep in mind that it’s far less stylized and far more adult than the game.
Timesplitters: I haven’t personally played this series yet, but since it’s by former Rare developers, the same people responsible for Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, and extremely highly regarded, you should probably not pass it up. Note that the second and third game are also on Gamecube and will likely run better in Dolphin than the PS2 versions do in AetherSX2.
Deus Ex: The classic immersive sim does qualify as a shooter if you choose to play it that way, but you’re far better off playing it slowly and meticulously as a stealth title. The PS2 port is very interesting. In some ways, it’s compromised, with slightly simplified graphics and levels having been broken up into smaller chunks due to memory constraints, but on the other hand, there is added detail to the environments and animations received a motion capture overhaul. There’s also a completely different UI. If you haven’t played this absolutely legendary title with sheer endless depth, complexity and replayability, then definitely give it a go.
Gamecube/Wii:
Metroid Prime Trilogy: Sci-fi 3D Metroid goodness. I have to admit that I haven’t found the time and patience to really sink my teeth into these games yet, having only perfunctory experience with them, but there’s no denying that these are outstanding games, with strong, inventive mechanics, complex level design and excellent presentation.
Resident Evil 4: The best console version of the original classic. The PS2 port was severely compromised, as was the original PC port. Note that on PC, you can install the RE4HD project, which is perhaps the most impressive fan remaster of all time. The developers of this mod even traveled to the locations that the original developers used for reference photos in order to capture material for enhanced textures and geometry. There are texture packs for Dolphin, which are however, to the best of my knowledge, nowhere near as in-depth. Still a decent way of experiencing this title though.
Gun: Neversoft’s attempt at a third person open world Western game. A solid effort. Compared to Red Dead Redemption on Xbox 360 / PS3, it feels like amateur hour, but it’s still fine, with good combat, limited exploration and a solid story. The open world is unfortunately not very open, hampered by invisible walls and fairly bland design.
James Bond: From Russia With Love: An unusual licensed title, based on 1960s James Bond with Sean Connery, dripping with atmosphere, charm and spectacle. There isn’t much depth here, but it looks great, plays fluently and is solid fun all around. If you like the idea of racing a classic Aston Martin through dense European streets in one level and fighting bad guys while being suspended from a jet pack in another as Sean Connery does his best to charm some hapless bond girl, then check this game out.
Then again, any halfway decent Android phone will run PSP games at a higher resolution than the Vita (and you can use a controller cradle), so it’s not that great of a deal anymore.
I decided to look into Vice City Stories again and discovered that the PS2 version has more side missions, which I was previously unaware of, so if you want the full experience, emulate that version instead of the PSP original, provided your device can handle it. It also looks slightly better.
I’m assuming you’re referring to black bars left and right? Many PS2 games were 4:3, although over the course of the system’s lifespan, more and more did support 16:9 natively and the system could be set to widescreen from the start.
You can set the aspect ratio of the PS2 emulator on this system to widescreen in the options. This should cover most if not all games, including those that never officially did support widescreen.
Huh, that’s odd. I haven’t seen this in videos of the system emulating PS2. This might be done for performance reasons (1x PS2 resolution, no upscaling - something like that), but even if that’s the case, you should be able to set the emulator to fill the entire screen, with an upscaled image if necessary. Experiment with settings, but keep in mind that different PS2 games have vastly different hardware requirements in an emulator. Shadow of the Colossus will always run far worse than e.g. a simple licensed game like Ratatouille, so on limited hardware like yours, there’s no way around per-game settings for at least some titles.
Back in 2010, I tried my luck with PS2 emulation for the first time. Shadow of the Colossus ran so poorly on my PC at the time that I bought one of the last brand new PS2s (for 100 bucks, I believe), almost entirely for this game (and then I paid full price for the game, because it sold so poorly that even used copies went for 60 bucks). This game pushed the little console to its absolute limits, running at single digit frame rates in the most intense screens and forcing the fan to spin at its highest speed, so it’s not just the fault of your little handheld emulation system - it wasn’t very fluent on original hardware either, although still far better than on my PC. Most people played the original’s faithful remaster on PS3 (different from the PS4 remake), which runs far better.
The first time I tried the system, I was shocked by the terrible image quality of the Composite cable that came with its, so I spent a rather substantial amount of money on a Component cable, which did make a noticeable difference.
Back to your emulation console: You should be able to upscale native resolution to the full screen size at least. Might look a bit blurry, but there’s no performance penalty (since the same number of pixels are being rendered - they are just stretched, which even the weakest modern GPUs can do with ease) and your eyes will thank you.
By the way, there are a few Monster Hunter games for PSP, which are very easy to emulate. I’ve played Monster Hunter Freedom Unite both on original hardware and in PPSSPP. It looks astonishingly good and plays very well. There’s also Monster Hunter Freedom, the predecessor, which I haven’t played and didn’t review as well. Japan got an exclusive Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, of which there’s a fan-made translation, including the PS3 enhancements, that runs in PPSSPP. No idea if the enhancements work on your system, so try both the standard fan translation and the fan translation that includes PS3 assets. There’s a further texture enhancement mod for the latter, but this might be pushing it (doesn’t hurt to try though): github.com/…/MonsterHunterPortable3rdHDRemake
Whatcha all been playing? Been kind of sick this week so I took it easy but still found some time to get some Isaac runs in. Also started up rogue legacy 2 again which is a good time
How different is it from the predecessor in terms of gameplay? That one felt very derivative, a near carbon copy of the Ubisoft formula. I usually consider those games a guilty pleasure of mine, but HZD felt too repetitive and clunky. It’s a shame, because I really like the setting.
The PSP was a fantastic system for racing games, despite the lack of an analog throttle. If you want to get into this genre, this console is a great starting point:
Outrun 2006 Coast 2 Coast: Perhaps the best version of Outrun to date and an ideal game for people not that used to the genre. Easy to learn, hard to master. It’s gorgeous to look at, the arcade-style gameplay loop is perfect for a portable system and so much fun that you don’t really mind if you lose.
FlatOut: Head On: A very different take on the arcade racing genre. This one blends challenging stock car racing with over the top minigames that involve drivers being used as virtual bowling balls. It all makes sense, just try it out, if you don’t mind the generally high difficulty. Head On is a near 1:1 port of Flatout 2/Ultimate Carnage, just slightly simplified visually to run on the system.
Colin McRae Rally 2005 Plus: As the name implies, this is an ever so slightly reworked port of the PC and console game. It’s near 1:1, with only some modest visual downgrades. This is where Codemasters’ rally games peaked prior to Dirt Rally - and unlike Dirt Rally, which is a bonafide racing horror game, this title is accessible to players of all skill levels, with only players who are really into simulations being miffed about the lack of per-tire simulation. Career progression from modest FWD cars to spicy Group B monsters is absolutely exemplary and tracks are a delight, both visually and in terms of design.
WipeOut Pure: This might just be the best game in the series. Perfect controls, perfect track design, perfect career mode. The only flaw is that on original hardware, the frame rate isn’t always stable. I would highly recommend Pure as an entry into the series.
MotorStorm: Arctic Edge: One of those “concession games” for older systems as the new generation was already out, releasing for PS2 and PSP - but it’s actually more fun than the mainline games, at least in my opinion. It makes perfect use of the hardware, the vastly different vehicle classes and their strengths and weaknesses are tons of fun, just like in the mainline series, and the track design is wonderfully vertical. It also looks magnificent, which seems to be a trend among PSP racing games, now that I think of it. The developers were so confident in the tech of this title that they included a photo mode, which I don’t think all that many PSP games have.
Gran Turismo: Everyone expected this to be a mobile port of Gran Turismo 4, but it’s not. While it retains the presentation, large roster of licensed cars, real-world and fictional tracks and highly refined simcade driving physics, there is no conventional campaign. Instead, you create your own racing events and can only buy from a small selection of cars each virtual day. It’s an interesting concept. Do try it out just for the wow-factor of having a game this photorealistic on the PSP and perhaps stay for the fun you can create yourself. If you lack the creativity, people have created random event generators: sites.google.com/site/gtpspcampaigngenerator/ Gran Turismo is also to this day - and someone correct me if I’m wrong - the only mobile racing game that features a full 1:1 recreation of the iconic Nürburging, which alone makes it worth playing.
Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition: Classic Midnight Club on the go, but this time with customization. What’s not to love? Controls are so accurate, every other arcade racer will feel sluggish by comparison, it looks great (again), the cities are huge, there’s tons to do, it has just the right difficulty, challenging without being unfair and it perfectly encompasses this bygone era of early to mid 2000s street racing, even better than any Need for Speed of the time, in my opinion. Like all of the Midnight Club games, this one is also great for just randomly driving around without any goals in mind.
Test Drive Unlimited: Speaking of randomly driving around, this game represents perhaps the very peak of this idea. Shrinking down the entire island of Oahu at 1:1 scale with its real-world street layout (and some creative liberty in regards to buildings), this one is truly a miracle of optimization. The result may not be the prettiest racing game on the system, but the bouncy, responsive driving physics - which so closely mimic that of Gran Turismo 2 that I’m convinced they straight-up copied them - more than make up for any visual shortcomings. This also means that this cut down version of the 360/PS3/PC game (visuals, some vehicles and customization) is more fun to play than the big version, which has comparatively flat driving physics that straddle the line between arcade and simulation nowhere near as well. If you like the idea of living the idea of living the life on a Hawaiian island, buying homes and cars to fill their garages with, racing down long coastal straights and maneuvering through twisty mountain roads, then this might be right up your alley.
I bought a PS2 about 6 months ago from a coworker and finally got around to getting it working at a good enough resolution on my monitor. I currently have:...
Worth mentioning that almost every time, the PS2 is the worst platform for multiplatform titles, simply due to how weak the system was compared to both other consoles and contemporary PCs.
There are a small handful of exceptions. GTA San Andreas has complex lighting and effects (which took advantage of the unique hardware and were not possible on other systems at the time, not even PCs), as well as many details that are completely lost on every single other version. The downside is that the PS2 version has primitive shadows, poor frame rates, a low resolution and a very short draw distance. Thankfully, you can mod the PC version (which was actually downgraded even further several times over the years) to add in all of the missing effects and details, making it the best of both worlds. Don’t underestimate just how much of a difference this makes. The lighting alone turns this otherwise bland-looking title into a game that can provide surprisingly atmospheric and even stunning moments, despite the low poly count and low-res textures. The more recent remaster tries to unsuccessfully emulate this look, but I would stay away from it as far as possible.
Another example is Need for Speed Underground 2: Only the PS2 version has complex lighting and color-grading effects. They were never ported to other platforms, because just like with GTA SA, they were not technically possible elsewhere at the time.
If anyone knows more games this applies to, feel free to reply.
I should add that due to the low resolution of the system, it’s usually a far better idea to emulate PS2 games than to play them on native hardware. On PC, PCSX2 is the gold standard and on Android devices, AetherSX2 is near equivalent, provided you have a beefy enough phone or tablet (lower-end devices might struggle). This also makes it far easier to explore ROMhacks (or should we call them ISO-hacks?), like this upcoming one of Gran Turismo 4:
If you want to stick with original hardware, make sure to use a Component cable instead of Composite cable, if you aren’t already. The difference in image quality is massive, even if it’s rarely ever great due to the messy, highly aliased output of the system in in all but a small handful of titles.
Ah yes, the confusing world of ports that aren’t ports, but entirely different games. There were a number of those on PS2, especially late in the system’s lifespan, during the cross-gen days, when it was lucrative to cater to the huge existing install base.
On top of my head, Splinter Cell Double Agent was a completely different (and according to some, better) title on sixth compared to 7th gen consoles and PC, although I have played neither version myself.
Test Drive Unlimited on PS2 and PSP had the same enormous game world as the 360/PS3/PC-version, the entire island of Oahu at full scale, but ran on a different engine with very different driving physics, which feel bouncy and direct, nearly identical to Gran Turismo 2 of all games, making it more fun to play than the “next-gen” version, which attempted more realistic physics that feel flat by comparison however. I consider GT2 to be the peak of simcade driving physics and thus am a huge fan of this version’s driving physics as well. Graphics are obviously much worse than on seventh gen, customization features, game modes and many vehicles are missing and the GPS is buggy, but it is nonetheless a very interesting and enjoyable version. In my opinion, the visuals have actually aged rather nicely, on PS2 at least, where it even has pleasant-looking car reflections and surprisingly detailed interiors. It has a low-poly charm to it, with just the right amount of detail. Both versions are outstanding at just randomly going on a relaxing drive, since you’ll never run out of twisty roads to explore.
That was a good example. A bad, but fascinating one is the Alone in the Dark reboot. The next-gen version was by the same developer as the next-gen version of Test Drive Unlimited, Eden Games, an attempt at using the latest tech and tons of innovative and immersive mechanics as well as scale never seen before in a horror game. It didn’t work at all and fell flat at practically everything it tried, from physics to narration, not to mention, it manages to be a horror game that isn’t scary at all, except for the terrifyingly bad controls, but it’s a very interesting train wreck to behold. By comparison, the PS2 version, by a different studio, feels like a demake made by someone who got the rough outline of every scene over a bad telephone line and then tried to cobble something vaguely similar together in six to nine months on a budget of whatever was left from the catering bill of the developer of the costly next-gen version. Sometimes, it just uses screen-recordings of real-time cutscenes from the PS3/360 version. It’s awful to play, but also very interesting, especially next to the overambitious next-gen version.
Don’t be overdramatic. It’s a good game, certainly above average. Just because it’s not the game you expected it to be doesn’t make it terrible. This reminds me of the ridiculous hyperbole surrounding Cyberpunk 2077, that it was a terrible game, even “one of the worst games of all times”, because it wasn’t the second coming of Christ either, just a good RPG with teething issues.
There’s a spectrum among F2P games as well. There are games that are designed to coax the player into constantly spending increasing amounts of money by either inconveniencing them (wait times, slow or nonexistent progress) or by providing them with massive advantages against other players. Towards the softer side, there are titles that are solely selling cosmetic items - but they can be so incessant with it that people, especially kids, feel pressured into purchasing them, sometimes even out of peer pressure (see: Fortnite). Finally, the mildest kind are games that have a free mode that is little more than a demo, but you can make one-time purchases to permanently unlock more content, which isn’t too dissimilar to expansion packs of the olden days. Prime example for this: The Battle of Polytopia, a Civilization-lite. On mobile, you can permanently unlock more tribes and thus larger maps and multiplayer with very small one-time purchases.
I’m a big fan of Indies as well and have been for far longer than the advent of the modern Indie game, but occasionally, I want to use that humongous RTX card for more than just machine learning and offline renders, indulge myself in the wasteful spectacle and grandeur of big AAA productions. Large open world games in particular are outstanding for virtual tourism. For all its faults, Hogwarts Legacy does provide this in spades.
The game itself clearly doesn’t, going by the character creator. Some of the money made from it does end up in the hands of a virulent transphobe though, that’s true.
That’s why Sega was so notorious for shutting down fan projects as well in the past (they have since softened their stance however, provided projects are non-commercial), although I don’t think it’s the entire story. Sony lost against the groundbreaking Bleem! emulator back in the PS1 days and I’m not aware of them being litigious in this regard since.
Epic pays flat fees, not per download or play. The latter two would be too risky and could be manipulated, whereas flat fees are safe and predictable. For a title as large as Control, they probably handed over to a few millions - or in other words, perhaps a couple of hours worth of Fortnite revenue.
Hi Fi Rush had 3 million players, including Game Pass. Starfield had over 12 million players, including Game Pass. It was one of the most successful releases last year, the single best selling game in the US the month it came out. That’s not what tanking looks like.
So, I’m going to get a retroid pocket 4 pro. Its the best option I found. What are some (fdroid) games I can look into? I plan of stuffing it with ROMs too....
No experience with the system; I just stuck a controller cradle to my phone instead and am using a Steam Deck for more serious mobile gaming, but there are a few obvious games that should work with it:
Pixel Dungeon and its many variations: Incredibly hard, seemingly unfair roguelike, but there’s a system to the madness and you can figure its very systemic gameplay out with lots of patience. Shattered Pixel Dungeon is the most popular variant.
Mindustry: Popular open source clone of Factorio. I think you’ll need to fiddle with it to get the controller portion of your device to work with it (your device might have a built-in tool for this).
Minetest: Open source Minecraft clone and a pretty decent one.
To be perfectly honest, the open source gaming scene is pretty small and among the few games there are, even fewer are both available for Android and make sense on your device.
You should however look into source ports, in addition to emulation, of which there is a bewildering variety (disclaimer: I have not checked if any of these require more processing power than your device can provide):
ZDoom: Should be obvious what this is for.
idTech4A++: Allows you to play DOOM III, Quake 4, Prey (2006) and, I think, a bunch of mods on Android.
OpenMW: Open source engine for Morrowind. May come with the risk of never putting the device down ever again.
OpenLara: As the name implies, this one allows you to play Tomb Raider 1-4. Comes with lots of neat enhancements, although it obviously doesn’t go as far as the new remaster of the trilogy for PC and consoles.
BuildGDX: For Build Engine games like Duke Nukem 3D and Shadow Warrior.
Keep in mind that only those with an Android icon are for Android and that not all of them are suitable for a device with a screen this small (SCUMMVM for old Lucas Arts adventure games doesn’t make a lot of sense, for example).
PVKK from the Dome Keeper devs is Papers Please but you get a huge planetary defence cannon (www.rockpapershotgun.com) angielski
Why are arcade cabinets so expensive?
The tech strore has a capcom arcade cabinet, its one of those multi game ones...
Let's discuss: The Sims (beehaw.org) angielski
The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!...
Recompilation: An Incredible New Way to Keep N64 Games Alive (vid.lilay.dev) angielski
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywWwUuWRgsM...
Can somebody explain why game makers don't start their own companies together? angielski
It seems like every other week a game studio is massively laying off employees; sometimes after years of development. What I’m reading is that it’s a quick way to lower expenses and pad the investors’ pockets, flooding the market with developers and reducing their value, to then hire them back a few months later at lower...
Microsoft closes Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin and others (www.gamingonlinux.com) angielski
Steam Deck is the ❝Biggest Threat❞ to Xbox [Fan The Deck] (youtu.be)
Steam Deck is the biggest threat to Xbox and maybe the other way around too. Let’s explore Microsoft and Valve’s weird relationship
Palestinian Relief Bundle - Itch.io (itch.io)
Palestinians are being persecuted from their homes in an ongoing genocide. Due to the armed actions of Israel, they lack access to essentials such as food, water, electricity and medical care....
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of April 14th
Whatcha all been playing! I got the itch for outer wilds again, which I can’t really play anymore (😭)...
Baldur's Gate 3 actors reveal the darker side of success fuelled by AI voice cloning (www.eurogamer.net)
The cat is out of the bag and despite many years of warning before this and similar technology became widely available, nobody was really prepared for it - and everyone is solely acting in their own best interests (or what they think their best interests to be). I think the biggest failure is that despite there being warnings...
Ubisoft is reportedly revoking The Crew licenses following shutdown (twitter.com)
I would normally not link to a tweet, but it’s from the YouTuber who is behind the global campaign that aims to prevent games companies from killing games people paid for:...
Open world games, need recommendations
Its been a while since I played botw and totk, I want to get into similar open world games with good combat systems, any recommendations?...
Need android game recommendations
I’d like to get into android gaming if there is anything good out there. I am open for any genre but I have a few requirements...
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of March 24th
Whatcha all been playing? Been kind of sick this week so I took it easy but still found some time to get some Isaac runs in. Also started up rogue legacy 2 again which is a good time
What are some good PSP games?
I wanna get into non Nintendo stuff. What are some good PSP games in generals....
Best PS2 games? angielski
I bought a PS2 about 6 months ago from a coworker and finally got around to getting it working at a good enough resolution on my monitor. I currently have:...
Warner Bros. Discusses "Volatile" AAA Console Games, Will Lean Into Free-To-Play And Mobile (www.gamespot.com) angielski
Switch emulator Yuzu shuts down as creator agrees to pay Nintendo $2.4m (www.eurogamer.net)
Citra will also be shutting down :(
Remedy acquires full rights to the Control franchise from 505 Games (investors.remedygames.com)
Some quotes from the article:...
Alan Wake 2 sales figures are letting Remedy feel confident about Control 2 - even if the game hasn't made any profit yet (www.vg247.com)
Game over? Industry suffers slowdown after decades-long winning streak (www.ft.com) angielski
almost certain this is behind a paywall and usually FT is one you can’t get around, so some choice excerpts:...
Godot Engine - 2023 Showreel (www.youtube.com)
Disco Elysium standalone expansion reportedly cancelled and quarter of staff facing redundancy at ZA/UM (www.eurogamer.net)
Need advice for android gaming
So, I’m going to get a retroid pocket 4 pro. Its the best option I found. What are some (fdroid) games I can look into? I plan of stuffing it with ROMs too....
Weekly “What are you playing” Thread || Week of February 11th
What have you all been playing!...