jshackles
Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
Welcome to the September 2015 NeoGAF Steam thread! Now we can buy movies we'll never watch to go with the games we'll never play!
- STEAM News Thread - Read rules before posting
- GAF Steam ID List | Request a buddy
- Steam Trading | Games/Cards/Keys/Money/Items
- PC Gaming Threads | A list of PC threads on NeoGAF
Act of Aggression - Uzzy
Act of Aggression is a real time strategy game from Eugen Systems. Set in the near future, you take command of one of three forces, the venerable warhorse of the US Army, the flexible, diverse Chimera or the stealthy, high tech Cartel, in a fight to the death for the world's resources in a single player campaign and online multiplayer. Build up your base to exploit the scarce resources on the map, take the fight to the enemy with a wide range of infantry, vehicles and airpower, before finishing them off with powerful superweapons.
The RTS genre has had a rough time of it in the past decade, with great studios closing and classic franchises fading away or morphing into something rather different to the more mainline RTS games that came before. Eugen Systems, however, have been one of the brighter sparks in the genre, with fine games like RUSE and the Wargame series under their belt. Still, those weren't quite your typical RTS game, so it was a bit of a surprise to see Eugen look to the past classics for their latest game, Act of Aggression. Taking inspiration from Eugen's own 2005 title Act of War, and the slightly more notable Command and Conquer: Generals, Act of Aggression is a real throwback to the classics, with an emphasis on base building, resource gathering and superweapons. Resources are scarce enough to force you into tough decisions about how to expand and upgrade, but you can eventually build your base up to be somewhat self sufficient, or capture enemy combatants and ransom them off for resources, which is a rather neat mechanic. It's a classic, old school RTS, but with all the features and good looks of a modern title.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain - Dr Dogg
Well hopefully by now we all have MGSV installed or are already playing unless Peeler played us like a damn fiddle and the release date is still the 15th. But that minor lapse in communication aside this is hotting up to be one of the most special release this year (in an already very promising one so far). Right now Ive not read any reviews, stayed away from the review and spoiler threads on here, not seen any footage outside of what Konami has released over the past couple of years so my knowledge of the game is a bit limited and I know lots of you are trying to avoid spoilers too so Ill be gentle with this one but this might be missing pertinent stuff you already know.
The game kicks off right after the end of Ground Zeroes, well 9 years after the events and the ending of Ground Zeroes to be exact but we get to find out what happened to Big Boss from the off. Eventually getting back into the field Boss rescues Miller with the help of an old acquaintance in Ocelot. They plan to rebuild Mother Base to seek revenge for the events that occurred at the end of Ground Zeroes. There are two confirmed play spaces of Afghanistan and West Africa which are open sandboxes which you can playthrough on a mission by mission basis or are free to explore and take on side content or approach main missions from a different area of the map. Regards to the past games you need to have played to understand the story, the series usually does a good job of having a recap in the menus without spoiling too much of the past games to get you up to speed but every entry has been somewhat selfcontained with the focus on the characters in their current situation. Thats about as spoilery and story focused as Im going to get as the rest is a mystery to me but I do have a handle on the gameplay and mechanics offered.
Now from reading some impressions around the tinterwebs I get the feeling a lot of folks havent played Peace Walker. Dont go running for the hills just yet as The Phantom Pain builds upon practically every entry in the series it seems. The set up for missions, Main Ops, looks to be like Peace Walker and are larger open segments of gameplay bookended with the series traditional cutscenes with optional missions, Side Ops, which you use for acquiring new members for Mother Base with unique skills, Blueprints for R&D projects, Im sure some oddities too that fit in with the more goofy aspects of the series. Long expositional unskippable Codec calls are a thing of the past for those of you lapsed in the series with them being put into optional cassette tapes from Peace Walker onwards with briefing reports, character and backstory info in them too, all accessible from the iDroid menu at any time (you can even listen to them when scouting your mission approach in game).
So what is this Mother Base you speak of I hear you say. Well its a resource management aspect of the game which allows you to develop new weapons and equipment, gather intel for missions, even new camos and upgrades to key tools and vehicles as well as expansion of the base itself. You can have Miller automate some of the systems mind so you don't have to get too hands on with it if you don't like or tinker away to your hearts content You obviously need staff to assign to these different departments so making the return from Peace Walker is the Fulton Surface to Air Delivery System. Its a little different than in Peace Walker as you are no longer guaranteed to successfully Fulton personnel back as well as the balloons potentially being shot down and you now have to have clear space above the extraction target so now indoor recoveries this time. You can Fulton more than just new recruits now. Weapon emplacements, vehicles, supply containers, even animals can be Fultoned (with the right upgrades via the R&D deck of course). Of course Mother Base isnt run on sunshine and tummy rubs as these things cost money, Gross Military Product or GMP in the currency which you acquire depending on your mission performance, optional objectives, and other factors (in Peace Walker your combat team played a big part in the amount you made). Like Peace Walker you can also send your recruits out with you controlling them on Side Ops instead of Big Boss with some of them benefiting from unique skills such as spotting resources more easily or gathering more materials at a time.
Another new addition is the Buddy System where Boss can have allies out in the field with him. Among them are a horse for covering large areas fast, D Dog (no not me) for scouting out enemy locations, the sniper Quiet for long range support and D Walker which is a small mech like vehicle which you can customise for battle or stealth. On the new gadgets front you have the iDroid back from Ground Zeroes and it plays just an important role in planning out how you want to undertake the mission as well as streamlining menus and accessing Mother Base research, supply drops and support. You also have various different types of prosthetic arms to research with many different uses, from stun arms to a Nakita style rocket propelled fist. This isnt even touching on the invasion like multiplayer FOB system where players can raid each others sub bases or Metal Gear Online which is coming next year.
Im sure Ive missed lots and lots of key points here but this looks to be a gigantic game and Ive hardly even touched on the story. More importantly it will be the farewell game from Kojima and possibly Kojima Productions so I imagine theres plenty of easter eggs and thank yous in the game to find. Only reservation I have is how the horse might control as The Witcher III really perfected the style used in Red Dead Redemption so it will be a tough act to follow but I believe in Koji Pro. Regardless its certainly going to be an emotional ride.
Mad Max - Hero Prinny
Yo so like in this game you play as a guy named Max, hes super mad and you're in a desert cause the world went to shit. its open world and you get this dope car to drive around that you can upgrade! also in this game you got to collect gasoline for your car and go around the world using your harpoon gun to collect scraps to upgrade your car (cause that sounds super fun). It'll probably have a bunch of shitty collectables that any sane person is going to ignore but hey, someone must be collecting all that nonsense, why else would every game have them? The hand to hand is like Batman but my boy Max goes crazy and just shotguns everyone unlike punk ass batman that swears to god he doesn't kill people my mans leaves people in a state worse than death if anything, no way you can tell me what batman does is better than death. Game also features some car combat too which is crazy as hell, you got flame throwers on your car and like you go BSHHHHHHH with it and shit, also you get spikes on the wheels to fuck up other people's tires cause fuck them. Anyways, it comes out the same day as MGS5 so you're probably not buying it but like bro, give it a purchase during a sale or something, it'll probably be a dope game and its being developed in house so it possibly, maybe, perhaps won't run like a dog with no legs.
Stasis - More_Badass
It's a good time to be a fan of sci-fi horror, between Alien Isolation, SOMA, and now Stasis. Inspired by movies like Alien and Event Horizon and games like Sanitarium and The Dig, Stasis is an isometric sci-fi horror adventure game with the kind of industrial atmosphere and gruesome visuals that would make Ridley Scott and David Cronenberg proud.
To put it simply: this is one fucked-up, disturbing, and violent horror game. It earns its M rating, in terms of both narrative and content. You are John Maracheck, who awakes from stasis on the mysterious vessel The Groomlake. Your family is missing and you quickly learn that something very very bad has happened on the ship. As you search the massive Groomlake for your family, you'll discover the truth behind the research and experiments conducted there. Being an adventure game, Stasis is all about puzzles and story. The puzzles tend to be pretty logical, adhering to the rules and tone of the setting. Let's just you have more uses for viscera here than you do in other adventure games. And the story only reinforces that tone through the logs of the many corpses (and parts of corpses) you find. The stories of the crew, scientists, and other inhabitants flesh out the world, and only deepen the sense of unease.
You might be wondering how an isometric adventure game can be scary. But it is, focused on constant unease, fantastic sound design, creepy atmosphere, and some really disturbing visuals and situations. You aren't safe either; there are many gruesome ways to die on the Groomlake. The stakes are high, and the things John has to do to survive and find his loved ones are easily on par with Dead Space 2's eye needle moment. This is horror on a personal fucked-up level, rather than shadows and monster closets and jump spaces (although there are some of those too).
If you enjoy sci-fi horror, you own it yourself to check out Stasis.
TY the Tasmanian Tiger 4 - jshackles
In one of gamings biggest WTF moments in recent history, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger is back. Ty 3 was released for the PS2 / Xbox / Gamecube almost 10 years ago in 2005, so the game's revival after such an absense remains a bit of a mystery. An even bigger mystery, however, is that Ty 4 is a side-scrolling platformer, where it's trilogy of predecessors were all 3D action games with light platforming. The game draws a lot of visual and play-style similarities to Rayman Origins. Regardless, fans of Ty the Tasmanian Tiger are excited to see his return. The game features 40 new levels, new boomerag abilities, and multiple game modes. You can even play as a number of Ty's pals from Bush Rescue HQ, and purchasing the game on Steam also includes the game's soundtrack. The game will support Steam achievements, Steam Cloud, Steam Trading Cards, and full controller support.
Evoland 2 - jshackles
The original Evoland was a fun but short linear romp through the eras of action RPG history - from the original Gameboy all the way through to about the Dreamcast era. When Evoland 2 was first announced, I was expecting more of the same. The formula of the original was pretty great, and the game didn't take itself to seriously. Fortunately for gamers everywhere, Evoland takes inspiration from the original and runs with it so far that the end result is nothing short of amazing. Evoland 2's adventure takes place over the course of around 30 hours, and represented genres include Professor Layton, Rock Band, shumps, fighting games, and more. If you're a fan of gaming, you'll be a fan of Evoland 2.
Unlike the original, Evoland 2's story revolves around time travel. Instead of a linear progression of the history of gaming, Evoland 2 is a story about time travel - and traveling backwards or forwards in time changes the gaming era your characters exist in. While the primary timeline takes place in a Chrono Trigger-esque 16-bit world, traveling back in time can take you to an 8 bit era or monochromatic Gameboy era. Traveling forward in time can take you to N64/PS1, and Dreamcast style eras as well. It's a system that makes so much sense that the first game's progression mechanic seems outright outdated by comparison. In addition to being novel, Evoland 2 is also humerous and fun. People criticised the original for just being an amalgamation of genres without having a concrete storyline, and it seems the developers took this to heart. Even with it's genre-bending overtones, they managed to make a great action RPG with a solid storyline.
Zombi - Dr Dogg
Well this got released with little to no fanfare. Starting life as a WiiU launch title, Zombi makes the transition to other platforms relatively intact with only minor changes. Cited as a good use of the WiiUs unique features such as the gamepad which was used for inventory management whilst looking away from the screen creating a sense of tension. While this is now handled with on screen menus the tension is still there as the game doesnt pause while you rummage through your backpack. Sadly, the online and social components havent been brought over but its not a deal breaker for me. While you may have heard this compared to Dark Souls in many of its features, it feels like a ix of various games with some of its own ideas too. Theres bit of Dead Rising about the map design and missions and side missions you can take, Outlast is another game that came to mind too as well with a dash of Condemned with the melee combat focus.
You play as a random survivor in the midst of a zombie outbreak. Holed up in a safe room of a tube station you are helped and guided by a bloke known as The Prepper. He kits you out with a gadget of his own design, the Prepper Pad which you use to scan the environment to look for security cameras that once scanned will show the map for that area. Item in the environment can be scanned too including consumables and collectables (think Resident Evil Revelations Genesis scanner). Missions have you scouting out various areas to gather resources and information in hope of finding a cure with the story told in an over the radio kind of way that System/Bioshock Shock does (with twists and turns too but I havent quiet finished it yet). Map design is pretty good too and while not a fully interconnected world like Dark Souls you do have branching paths and shortcuts to find. Speaking of Dark Souls, the other main influence the game takes away from that game is death, and each death brings that little bit more knowledge. When you die you respawn as a new random survivor back in the safe house with none of the items you had beforehand. Combat favours melee weapons mainly because while there are guns in the game ammo is a bit on the scarce side but a cricket bat to the bonce of a zombie is rather satisfying time after time. There are difference types of zombies depending on which area/map you are in, some even themed to their location of stereotypical Britishness (urgh ).
While I havent quiet finished the game yet it has been quite an enjoyable experience so far. Port is pretty barebones with resolution your only means of scalability but its coming from a WiiU title and its quite lightweight to run. Also being a DX9 title you can also have a bit of fun with some added injected shader effects if you like they kind of fit the mood (I tried a couple of film gain and CRT effects and they work really well with the game aesthetics).
Duskers - More_Badass
The universe is dead. You are alone. Supplies are dwindling. Welcome to Duskers.
By typing command lines into your ship's console, you remotely guide drones through the derelict barges, stations, and outposts now drifting through space. You must gather much-need resources, scavenge for upgrades, maybe even learn why the universe is a graveyard. You view the world through your ship's monitor and the drones' camera feeds, sensors and cameras that can fail or make errors, so caution is advised...because while you may be the last human, you certainly aren't the last organism.
Duskers is brimming with tension and atmosphere thanks to its excellent sound design, detached perspective, and deliberate pacing. You must plan ahead and think carefully about each command. Danger lurks everywhere - alien threats, active security systems, hull leaks - and only through careful planning and smart use of the environment can you protect your fragile drones. Scavenged gear can be used to modify drones with lures, cloaking, motion detectors, even the rare weapon, but the best tools are the vessels themselves. You can lure creatures into a room, seal them in, then activate on-board defense systems. Or open an airlock to suck a roaming turret into space.
Duskers is tactical and tense, mixing moments of unease and fear of the unknown with satisfying strategy and on-the-fly improvisation. Similar to Her Story or Uplink, the command console interface results in an immersive intimate experience. You are the last human, controlling your drones from your computer. Duskers is currently on Early Access, but there's already an engaging and challenging game here.
Anyone can write a recommendation for an upcoming game for next month, just send a a PM of the game you want to write about and your thoughts on why it's good/why people should play it. Please make the sure recommendation is 60+ words at least and try and hand it a few days before the month ends so I can add it to the next thread.
