What single player FPS campaign are you playing?

[ExedExes]

With this thread returning in the past few days, I'll give an update on the various FPS projects I've been pursuing over the summer.

Metro 2033 Redux - I grabbed these games for $3.99 each earlier this year on GOG, and after seeing some talk about them here I tried it. It's good all right. I really am not too fond of the above ground levels (OUTPOST and tons of broken gas masks) but the bleak dankness of it all is captured beautifully. I prefer the underground levels, sneaking around, turning out lights, headshots and silent takedowns. The weapon customizations are nice too. I just made it to Polis, one of the bigger points of the game last night.

Deus Ex w/ GMDX 8 - I saw someone (Xeogred?) mention this mod so I got it to go along with my GOG copy of Deus Ex. Even though GMDX 9 is scheduled to release in December, I still wanted to try it. I like the graphical improvements as well as the better enemy AI. BUT they got rid of the lockpick/multitool bug that you could go to the inventory and just use 1 instead of 2 or more to get past locks and security. For some reason, the F6 augmentation (Microfibral Muscle) doesn't appear in the augs section of the HUD either. Maybe this will be fixed in 9? Also were some of the keypad passwords changed?

Bioshock Enhanced Edition - I posted previously on how I was playing Bioshock and having a great time with it. But this game being 10 years old was not playing very well on my Win 8.1 machine with crashes as I was playing. I then saw that Bioshock: The Collection was coming on 9/13, and despite my aversion to Steam after a not so impressed first attempt to use it back in 2010, I held my breath and gave it another try. I snapped up 1 & 2 in anticipation for the remastered versions which were delayed for the PC by a couple of days, and apparently I missed a deal which would have offered 1/2/Infinite for $37.99 with all DLCs included (this offer turned out to be an error by Steam AFAIK), but I did get the client and the remastered version of the first game. It runs like a dream now. I didn't get very far in the first game but I can't wait to get back to this some more. I'll still buy more on GOG but I am really impressed by Steam.

So that's where I stand right now. In the past I focused on one game but I figure I'll take a sample of all three of these for now.

[Exhuminator]

Not a lot of gaming time lately unfortunately, and I'm stuck with handhelds and mobile for a good while to come. So, I've been giving the ol' DS some love. One of the games I'm plinking away at is Moon. Remember Moon? Yeah that lunar themed FPS from 2009.



I've got about 2 hours in it, and it reminds me fairly often of Metroid Prime. No it's not anywhere in that league of quality... but the atmosphere and decorative theme still invokes strong Prime nostalgia. Also using the remote droid to navigate tunnels is highly reminiscent of the morph ball. Sometimes Moon reminds me of System Shock 1, especially when you're being overwhelmed by pissed off security robots. And once in a while Moon reminds me of Mass Effect, at least when you're on the lunar surface driving around in the lunar rover. So I guess I'm saying positive things about the game, it's not half bad for what it is. I think I'm about a 1/3rd of the way through now. There's still plenty of time for Renegade Kid to screw it up. Here's hoping they don't.

[Xeogred]

That looks pretty cool. There's actually been several DS FPS's I've seen that look neat. But yeah...

ExedExes: Yeah I've been replaying Deus Ex with that mod. It sure has been tougher with the AI enhancements. I'm at the ship dock level, so probably about midway in after Hong Kong. I do think some keypads have definitely been changed. I'll have to look out to see if F6 is on the hud for me. I like the cool GMDX blue/red colored hud theme they have in there.

Not going to lie, a 10th time around or so... Deus Ex is rough.

But I think I probably burned out a little on the genre, replaying Human Revolution before Mankind Divided, then sunk 40 hours into MD. Even from day one though I've always thought the Deus Ex gameplay was kind of chunky, but it has its charm. I think some stuff like Thief or System Shock 2 might be better in terms of gameplay though. But for an immersive game with tons of characters and cool story, Deus Ex is still probably my favorite.

It always gets more fun to me when I get the Dragon Tooth sword, haha. I miss melee weapons in the newer games. I guess you have the instant takedown win button, but melee weapons were fun. I have to say though, I think I can confidently say that the Hong Kong portion in the original is one of my least favorite portions. The theme isn't my favorite, Tracer Tong seems a little goofy, and you go for a long stretch without any Bob Page or AI's (well you do see Bob Page and Maggie Chow talking). It just seems like a weird, slow, HUGE portion of the game after the shocking revelation about UNATCO prior. After that though I think the game hits it stride in the second half with the story coming on stronger, Bob Page and Icarus, I love Paris, and it becomes a bit more level based than a bunch of hub exploration... Paris is pretty simplistic and brief compared to New York and Hong Kong.

With Metro, you're mostly going to get underground stages, even moreso in Last Light. Personally I liked the outdoor levels more but I know I'm in the minority there. Those sections just reminded me of Stalker haha.

[MrPopo]

The outdoor levels of Metro I loved to hate. They nailed the whole feeling of it being a complete hellscape. I remember in Last Light having a save right before a boss at the end of an overworld section where I was pretty much dry on all equipment and consumables. When I finally took him down it was amazing, and I'm gasping as I run into shelter since I've been on a bad filter for longer than I should have been.

[Exhuminator]

That looks pretty cool. There's actually been several DS FPS's I've seen that look neat. But yeah...

So let's say you enjoy playing PC games and hate handhelds, yet are interested in DS games, for example; Moon.

Hmm. How to fix this problem.

This is how:

You can download DeSmuME, a fantastic DS emulator for PC: https://desmume.org/screenshots/

Or the high res offshoot of DeSmuME, that plays DS graphics in upres'd resolutions: http://shikaver01.webcrow.jp/desmume_x432r/index.html
(screenshots: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=798812 )

You familiarize yourself with its setup: http://www.desmume.com/users-manual.htm
Taking special note that you can indeed increase the screensize to be far larger than a normal DS.

Then you get yourself a ROM of Moon, or whatever game you want:

http://www.emuparadise.me/Nintendo_DS_R ... -Titles/32

Profit!

Suddenly you also realize that a fantastic PSP emulator exists for PC as well:

http://www.ppsspp.org/

And that you can also play ISOs on it easily:

http://www.emuparadise.me/PSP_ISOs/List-All-Titles/44

Then you realize that you can actually do this PC emulation trick for every handheld ever made pre-3DS/Vita, and your head explodes contemplating all the awesome handheld games you've missed out on.

[ExedExes]

I think I can confidently say that the Hong Kong portion in the original is one of my least favorite portions. The theme isn't my favorite, Tracer Tong seems a little goofy, and you go for a long stretch without any Bob Page or AI's (well you do see Bob Page and Maggie Chow talking). It just seems like a weird, slow, HUGE portion of the game after the shocking revelation about UNATCO prior.

For me Hong Kong is a highlight, because not only the music and those horrible accents (vewwwy expensive!), but of course getting the gamebreaker sword is awesome. I've probably played this at least 10 times I'd say too, but this mod makes things better. That F6 issue really bugs me, I even did the "all augs" cheat (but didn't save) and every other F key shows up on the HUD! The muscle aug is only useful in a few areas but I liked it.

The outdoor levels of Metro I loved to hate. They nailed the whole feeling of it being a complete hellscape. I remember in Last Light having a save right before a boss at the end of an overworld section where I was pretty much dry on all equipment and consumables. When I finally took him down it was amazing, and I'm gasping as I run into shelter since I've been on a bad filter for longer than I should have been.

That was me on my very first outdoor level. I didn't understand the importance of filters until you get ganged up by like 5 of the beast things and then one of the winged bastards picks you up and takes you on a tour of the level. Give me silent takedowns and headshots anyday! Plus you get to pick up all the ammo off the dead bodies which is great.

I'd agree with ol' Exhum here, get yourself some handheld FPS, be it GBA or DS or whatever. There's a lot of good stuff you're missing!

[Xeogred]

I can confirm that the F6 aug isn't there for me either, in the hud or the aug menu screen. Is that the arms upgrade slot? I went with melee strength which is always on, but yeah I do remember you needing to activate the heavy lifting option if you went with that. Did they make that automatic in this mod? I'm guessing not since it sounds like you just have a flat out missing aug ability now. Very weird.

[casterofdreams]

I'm not sure if I played Vegas 2, but I remember Vegas being pretty awesome. It seemed less complex than the older games but still had some complexities to it that you don't find in most shooters. I'd be curious to hear how it holds up.

So after playing the first few missions I can say it holds up very well.

The game is much slower paced than recent shooters for sure but for the type game that it is I understand why. It has aiming down sights but it's done with right click stick. The left trigger is to utilise the cover system where it takes you to a third person view and allows you to pop out of corners and shoot it up. I remember I was the guy who snake cammed every door and that hasn't changed.

Graphically it looks great. It is an early Xbox 360 title but it holds up well. The facial expressions are rough, and the character model other than you and your two teammates are rough as well. The environment is not very varied but it's brightly colored due to Vegas casinos naturally being that way. It takes place at night so no "sunlight" to speak of. The opening segment was during the day but it was all brown (took place in Mexico).

The shooting feels good. I always rock sound suppressors and use semi-auto firing rate. Teammates can breach and clear a room. This is odd but the handgun has unlimited ammo.

Other than that after on done with this game I'll move onto Vegas 2.

[ExedExes]

I can confirm that the F6 aug isn't there for me either, in the hud or the aug menu screen. Is that the arms upgrade slot? I went with melee strength which is always on, but yeah I do remember you needing to activate the heavy lifting option if you went with that. Did they make that automatic in this mod? I'm guessing not since it sounds like you just have a flat out missing aug ability now. Very weird.

A search hasn't found anything either. F6 is the arms slot. Maybe I should have went with the other aug option instead. The muscle aug is only good for lifting the larger crates and moving them around, but the mantling makes getting to higher spots and even over fences a lot more feasible, that's one of my favorite features. It's still a great mod.

[noiseredux]

alright I'm back on Dishonored. I beat the Golden Cat mission and am feeling pretty good. I swear, I keep going back and forth between not liking this game and liking it a lot. I'm struggling to put my finger on it. Maybe it's because I'm terrible at stealth (ask Fast and Ack who have played Payday 2 with me...) and the non-stealth version of Dishonored can be difficult? I don't know. It's an interesting game, though. I don't love the story nor the world exactly... but I'm gonna stick with it because it is damn intriguing as a game.