Seikenfreak

An exciting time. Whatcha getting? I know I've used all the GT games as a shopping tool for various purchases. Hence why it sucks when a game doesn't have the car you are interested in. And in GTs case, they have a lot of the more realistically attainable cars for people.

Certainly affected the purchase and import of the old GTR I have in the garage now.

Ooo, this is kinda my bread and butter. Never easy to pick favorites.. Probably have some classics on here because I think there is some beauty in simplicity and some of the newer games have lost their way.

Gran Turismo 2 (PS1) - Classic GT. In modern times, I find it a perfect balance of arcade and sim. The handling and feel is forgiving by todays standards and allows you to sit back and relax with a controller. Massive selection of cars, a lot that no newer games even bother having. Love the career/gameplay structure here as well.

Gran Turismo Sport (PS4) - The best racing game for online match-making and ease of entry. Very high skill level required when you're near the top and a great rewarding sense of competition. iRacing does exist, but its got a (very) high cost barrier to entry if you really wanna get into it and it is a bit simple/dull in terms of presentation compared to more popular racing games.

Need for Speed: High Stakes (PS1/PC) - Aside from the unique Porsche Unleashed entry maybe, High Stakes is the peak of NFS in my opinion. Another example of something being arcade-y but still giving a sense of playing with cool, real cars. The tier of cars available here are great. The whole vibe, from menu design and a killer soundtrack, is something that Need for Speed has lost and will probably never get back.

Top Gear (SNES) - One of my earliest racing game experiences. Ugh, the music is so damn good. Hard and unforgiving in the way old games are, it's still fun even if you only play the first few levels for a bit. The sequel, Top Gear 2, doesn't quite have the same style or music, but is easier to progress and play as a video game.

Project CARS 2 (PC) - My racing game of choice for VR. I think it's got a great sim handling model and some pretty good visuals. Using VR for racing sims is the way forward and if you're game doesn't support it, then why even bother. Lots of good race cars to choose from, but not a great selection for street cars.

Tokyo Xtreme Racer 3 (PS2) - The quintessential Wangan racing game. It's a crime they have not made a new one. Very unique, not a good or realistic handling model, but you get used to it. Good selection of japanese cars. Decent customization.

Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2 / Kaido Battle: Touge no Densetsu (PS2) - And the quintessential drifting game in my opinion. I originally played the japanese version of this, long before it was available over here, via an installation on my PS2 HDD. Again, kinda unique/bad handling model, but you do get used to it over the dozens of hours of gameplay available here. Unique progression system. Big variety in japanese cars. Decent customization. Again, blasphemous they haven't made a new one.

Colin McRae Rally 2.0 (PS1) - There are a lot of fun rally games. Probably only singling this one out because I bought it in 2019 and played a lot of the career mode. I hadn't played it prior to this and I think it still holds up. Put the time in to get comfortable with the crazy twitch reflexes that a rally game requires and eventually you'll get into the groove and feel so damn good when you nail a course.

Forza Horizon Series (Xbox) - I think this is going to be your best bet for an open-world racing game experience. Nothing else is coming to mind at least. Excellent balance of arcade/sim handling, enough so that cars feel like cars are bound to physics you can relate to but forgiving enough to allow for play on a controller and an easy sense of fun.

Monster Energy Supercross 3 / MXGP PRO - My picks if you're looking for two wheels on dirt. Supercross is indoor/stadium style courses, and MXGP are the larger outdoor courses. Can pick whatever fits your style. I did play Motocross Madness and some others as a kid, but I don't think there is any reason to go back to older games in the dirt bike genre.

F-Zero (SNES) / WipEout XL (PS1) - If you're looking for your futuristic, hover vehicle racers, these are it. One 2D, one 3D. Blindingly fast speeds. Each with a unique style of their own. Each with their own awesome soundtracks.

Tourist Trophy (PS2) - The Gran Turismo of motorcycle games. Obviously, both from Polyphony Digital. And they haven't made another one yet! Ugh, so dumb. Has that special Gran Turismo vibe, with the music and the visuals. Great motorcycle selection.

Alright.. I consumed the 6 hour video. And my conclusion is: I still enjoy aspects of his content or a particular angle he is coming from. I thoroughly enjoyed the video up until when he starts his first playthrough. At that point, it felt more like what I remember his other videos being. Lots of incoherent rambling where the lesson hes trying to teach gets lost in tons of anecdotes and verbs.

So yea, I think I liked the beginning (which was like, what?.. 2 hours? haha) because it was a broad view of the game, the series, the genre, the history, other games that may have been affected design wise by this one etc etc. Interesting stuff and had some structure. The only dating sim stuff I've messed with, super briefly I think, would be something with full on hentai in it.. and I just wanna see the hentai.. Putting the work in makes it slightly more fun but then also who cares. Hence, I've done this like once.

I think I would've enjoyed it beyond the initial overview section if he had instead made separate parts for different games in the series in a chronological order and talked about what improvements or changes were made between titles, reception, backlash to changes, and a summary of his experience playing it. And in a final section, then go on to speculate on how the tendrils of the games' design went on to affect other genres or games released after.

Don't really have anything off the top of my head to put on the list so it's 9 at the moment. Satisfactory would've been way up there but I decided to wait until next year, maybe? I already put 100+ hours into it this year I think.

DQ Builders 2 bored me to death but I still managed to make it near the end I believe before I said I had seen enough. And I liked Carrion.. but it was maybe a little too simple/short for me /shrug Didn't finish Ghost of Tsushima, also think I'm near the end. FF7R would be higher if it weren't for the lame combat system and the ridiculous Nomura story bullshit.

Edit: Actually, I'll toss Factorio on there. It already got #2 on my 2016 GOTY year list, because that's when I played it, but it hit 1.0 finally and needs love. I ranked it on here based on how I currently feel about it, having not played it in years.

@fraser: Ooo, thanks for the heads up. I drive all day, every day for work so I need podcasts. Will give this a whirl.

Might give this Tokimeki one a shot since ya'll are talking it up and making me feel like a bad person lol Probably while playing some SnowRunner

I've watched one or two of his videos some time ago I believe. I think they're just a bit too long for me and his style is a little too tangential for me to focus on? If I'm even saying that right. "Wordy" might be more apt. I don't intend for this to sound mean but, it's like he enjoys the sound of his own voice.. Something that could be clearly said in a concise sentence is deliberately drawn out into huge flowery books as a demonstration of his vocabulary/writing. Then take a ton of those books, string them together, and you end up with a 6 hour run time lol

Then again, it'd probably be easier for me to follow along with his runaway-brain train if it was a game I was actually familiar with and was actively interested in hearing about. I think I listened to the Last of Us one? I dunno why, because I haven't played it nor do I find it particularly interesting to hear about.

And take this with as a baseless grain of salt but I get the impression Tim and GB would not mesh. Specifically with Jeff lol They frequently reference various fellow industry writers and such. Mention Kotaku and what not. Have the E3 late night guests.. And Tim is like non-existent to them lol Again, just pulling that vibe outta my ass. /shrug

Tim seems like a very unique individual. I like aspects of his stuff. Think I just need to wait for him to do a game I'm into or curious about.

@zombiepie said:

/high-five

I made it somewhere past the big, Calm-lands-esque open area. Cocoon or something?.. who cares. There was a boss that was like a big wall maybe? Stance changes? Anyway, I got bored to death/gave up there. Some 30-40 hours into the game.

And that's when I completely fell off the single player Final Fantasy train. 16 though?.. eh, that just might be my ticket back on.

Not sure why the list function is all messed up for me.. Can find the proper full year long journal/write-up I did for 2020 games here. (It's actually formatted correctly and has images etc etc. Spent a ton of time putting it together)

Game of the Year 2020 Users Choice

	8. Dragon Quest Builders 22/9/20 - Dragon Quest Builders 2 was a late 2019 pickup. I've played it a bunch over the span of about 2 months and I think I'm near the end of the game. That ending isn't going to come though. I've had my fill. I made it fairly far in the original DQ Builders but grew tired of the repetitiveness of the gameplay loop, and thus fell off of it. A small part of me always thought "I probably should've finished that" and so I thought I'd make amends with the sequel. Unfortunately, DQB2 is a lot of the same. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what has been changed other than increased item capacity. It still operates on a fairly similar loop of building up a town on a map, fighting a boss, moving to a new map and starting over. Each area feels like it takes a substantial amount of time, even if you're trying to rush it. They give you this large multi-biome area to build up your own personal stuff, but I was so exhausted from building during the story maps, the last thing I wanted to do was immediately start again on my own area which didn't seem to matter in the grand scheme. Eh, I've had enough I think. I just can't muster the motivation to finish off what is likely the last 10% of the story. It's a shame.
	3. Half-Life: AlyxAh.. VR. Half-Life: Alyx was pretty damn good. Boneworks (which I think I wrote about last year?) is probably closer to a more traditional Half-Life/old linear FPS experience than Alyx is. This felt more like a series of areas designed around VR mechanics.. which is sort've how HL2 was I guess, except for physics. Anyway, I'm rambling and that's reductive. I loved this game for all the reasons that I love VR. It tries to move video games forward as an interactive medium. It's been awhile since I played it so I don't exactly have many profound thoughts and details about it pouring out of my head but.. yea. How bout that Jeff level, eh?
	5. Final Fantasy VII Remake4/13/20 - Finished the game on "Classic" difficulty with about 33 hours on the clock. A historically monumental release, oddly enough within weeks of Half-Life: Alyx's release. My thoughts on FF7R are all over the place at the moment. + The visuals are outstanding, aside from the texture issues. + The music is generally very good. Some of the more unique tracks, usually reserved for smaller areas or moments, aren't to my particular tastes. The boss battles made me put my controller down to crank up the volume. + The characters are amazingly realized. Their voice acting is mostly good. Their writing is pretty good most of the time. + It's incredible how much they were able to flesh out what essentially felt like the tutorial of the original release. The Shinra building portion is noteworthy. + The Materia System is still fantastic. But.. - What the fuck are they doing with these weird changes in the over-arching narrative? Are they going to fuck everything up or not? I can't tell, but it seems like it. Everything was good up until the end, and then I was lost. After watching EuroGamer's ending video, I am thoroughly disappointed that Square Enix has likely found a way to pussy out on making a proper remake and had to create a weird meta loophole of bullshit to free them of that burden and opens the whole thing up to doing whatever the hell they want.. which likely means garbage, instead of just copying the original story (with minor tweaks) which is known and beloved - The combat system isn't quite my jam. I'm not a fan of the action oriented direction they've taken the games starting with FF13. If you're going to do action, then it better be on par with Sekiro or why even bother. IMO, just stick to the series roots and build a really pretty and cool turn-based combat system. This just moves too fast and has too much going on. I had brief glimpses of fun with it, usually when it was 1v1 or 3v1? Not when there were a handful of enemies just spamming you and everyone creating massive glitterbomb farts on the screen. - Summons continue to be a let down ever since FF10. Implementing them into parties and having them awkwardly float around in the background and occasionally do some small flashy bits is just such a bummer. - The way the game ends and they want you to replay individual chapters if you want to explore.. But like, you need to complete to chapter to retain any progress? I don't know. It's dumb though. - The constant shimmying, crouching under debris, and balancing across stuff is a real crap way of masking loads. Taken right out of SE's Tomb Raider stuff. I guess this is one thing that the new systems are claiming to eliminate. There is a lot of fascinating discussion to be had about FF7R.
	7. Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 34/18/20 - Had my eye on this since release earlier in the year but finally scooped it up after a sudden random 50% price drop I spotted from a third party seller on Amazon only a couple months later. The original ME Supercross, a 2018 release I believe, was one of my surprise hits that year leading me to an eventual Platinum trophy. I skipped over the second one, because this is one of those barely iterative, yearly franchise games it seems and thus it didn't seem worth the time or money. The experience was still fresh in my memory. It's been two years now though and with the quarantine going on it seemed like the moment was right. There really isn't much to say about it honestly. As far as I can tell, it's the same game from two years ago. The main menu interface is different but I don't think I could name a single thing that's an improvement over 2018's title. That's not to say I am disappointed with my purchase. It's still fun. I still went through the 250 east, then west, and finally 450 championships in Career mode. I kinda doubt I'll Platinum this one, but I think I will go back in and collect some more trophies as just an excuse to play a little more of the game.
	2. SnowRunnerI huge sequel to the SpinTires series I've loved. SnowRunner is an incredible step forward for these games. While the previous titles pretty much just had you drive logs from point A to point B, back and forth on a couple maps, SnowRunner took everything to the next level by overhauling the entire interface and experience. Now they had all these maps, connected in a way that allowed for something of a progression system. You had lists of tasks and goals (again, still mostly hauling stuff) that weren't just one type of thing between two spots, but a variety of cargo to all different spots on the maps. You had to repair bridges and roads. You earned money to unlock bigger, more capable, and sometimes more specialized vehicles. I was able to mostly clear two of the three world areas (each area contained three to four maps) before I wore myself out on the game, and they've since added even more. SnowRunner was another title where I became thoroughly addicted, just as I did with the previous releases. The visuals even more detailed and gritty. The physics were as good as ever. Perhaps I didn't like the look and style of a lot of the vehicles in this one? For the most part though, I didn't have any issues with the game. Couple minor technical hiccups related to the quests/jobs. It's been awhile since I played it though so I might be forgetting any more nuanced complaints I may have had. Still want to play it more, just haven't been in the right mood at the right time.
	6. Ghost of Tsushima
	9. CarrionHeyoooo here comes something unique! Carrion was a nice little surprise. Wonderful look and premise to it. Has a cool feeling to controlling the.. thing. The novelty of the idea wears off after a bit and while it takes only a handful of hours to beat, it still took me a few sessions spread out over time to finish. Feels a little.. simplistic? The gatling guns on the mechs is one of the best portrayals of said weapon. Great sound. Yea.. just a neat game. Maybe not as impactful as I'd hope it'd have been.
	1. Demon's SoulsTHE PlayStation 5 release, of course. I hadn't touched Demon's Souls since the original PS3 release I believe. Bluepoint's remake is fantastic. Cleared my first run through the other day and already started another just to mess around and try some other styles. Maybe I'll even go for the Platinum?' Looks incredible. Runs at 60 which rocks. Not sure what else to say that I haven't already said about any of the other From Software games on my list. I feel like they're often #1. Still fascinating as a case study for what would explode into this whole new genre and shift design throughout the industry. The part that kinda sucks is that it makes me want to replay Dark Souls 2 for example, but now the old games look like ass in comparison and I just want all of them to be remade at this level.
	4. Cyberpunk 20771/1/2021 - Cyberpunk 2077 is a proverbial mountain range of discussion material. I can only talk about what I see from where I am. I'm also not the type of person to get involved in the political subject matter of games, their development, or politics in real life for that matter. That isn't what draws me to or allows me to enjoy this medium. I finished up most of the endings today with a game time around 95 hours. Level 43 ish and maxed street cred. I completed most, if not all Side Jobs, and huge amount of Gigs and other miscellaneous small tasks scattered around the world. I also played it on a medium-high end PC with a Ryzen 3900x w/ GTX 2080ti. So, that all out of the way, I generally enjoyed my time with Cyberpunk 2077. I went in with little to no expectations, and I came out with a Fallout/Skyrim-adjacent experience. It's most impressive from a technical point of view: Night City is amazing to be in and a sight to behold. I remember the reveal years ago, that POV step out into the bustling streets and thinking to myself.. "This is nuts. This will not happen on current PCs, let alone consoles." But, sure as hell, they did it. On PC only of course, because even with the advancement of hardware since that reveal, even the best hardware struggles to handle it with grace. As for the rest of Cyberpunk? I found it perfectly adequate. The shooting felt alright to me. The skill and perk system was there. The story has its moments. The voice acting was hit or miss. Keanu did a decent job. It was all just in service of me existing in this world. I want to watch Cyberpunk 2077 and how it unfolds in the years to come. I hope a modding community flourishes around it and takes it to the next level. There is so much potential here.

@humanity: Closet feeling ending to that is umm.. if I can remember the path to get it.. I think it was the Johnny/Rogue path and then you choose to keep your body? Of course with the 6 month thing that undermines all of Vs endings.

So then you're suddenly the best of the best and top dog of Night City? But it doesn't feel earned? And more like its just because Rogue died. And then Panam is also mad at you. The news or Delamane or something tells you that Arasaka is actually kinda fucked now after what you did and it'll take them "a long time to recover" And then you're doing this orbital casino space heist?

All mixed bags.

Also agree on some side quests being intriguing but then falling off. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop on Evelyn's death. She just fades into the background of the story, and then kills herself in the tub? For the rest of.. Julia?-- I suddenly can't remember her name.. The BD tech lesbian side character-- I was waiting for her to dip into Evelyn's memories/BD recording and discover that someone snuck into her place and made it look like a suicide to cover up other stuff that was happening behind the scenes. But nah. She just got this unceremonious end /shrug

That one you mention with Lizzie also lead to nowhere. *ahem* And this just may be me but, I was disappointed during Kerry's quests that I didn't get to have some whole crazy/fun orgy with the girl group in some capacity.

It's weird, writing this now, I'm realizing how much of the particulars I've already forgotten. Character names and other side stuff. Eh, I still enjoyed the game overall I guess.

@mabojun: Exactly. Part of me is like.. Fuck yea, the obvious next level of this would be some crazy shit in space.. And then another part feels like that could always be a nice carrot on a stick. Like, even as a player, we can't reach the height of those super elite rich people. Leaves some mystery. Plus, Neuromancer was kinda the whole space orbital heist thing right? Eh

Then I think about the cyberspace stuff and how that might be a cool angle to explore. Or going to Arizona or whatever. Or I like the closure of Johnny taking the body and just taking off like he did. Rogue dying was shit though. Saul I couldn't care less about, but I found Rogue to be very intriguing and bad ass. And the fact that, if you try the various endings you see how it's also Saul, it takes any weight out of it. I'm like.. she didn't really need to die. It didn't add anything to it for me.

Definitely agree. I like bits and pieces of each one.