What games besides TSW are you obsessing about currently? I have just finished my third playthrough of Elden Ring, now on my fourth, this time I am trying magic, which is a big step out of my soulslike comfort zone Also, finally yielded and got Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon... kinda like an unholy union between Skyrim and soulslikes... playing on medium diff, and it is pretty hard at times, tho finally I am getting some decent gear, so I get an occasional power trip or two Additionally, I cant recommend Boxes: Lost Fragments enough, if you want something chill... not too easy, but not too hard either, just right for relaxing and satisfying puzzle solving experience... wish there was more tho
Where to start… Back in the day, Lemmings 2. F16 Combat Pilot on the Amiga. Ditto Gunship 2000. The various Wing Commander games and Privateer. Frontier Elite 2. US Navy Fighters. Longbow 2. Well basically any combat flight sim with a decent dynamic campaign, though funnily enough never really engaged with Falcon 4. Transport Tycoon and the various Railroad Tycoons. Various iterations of MSFS but IMHO peaked with FS2004/FS9. X3 Terran Conflict. Actually ground out The Xenon Hub twice on that one! Elite Dangerous - did the grind up to Beagle Point twice though haven’t touched it in ages. Mass Effect Trilogy. Deus X HR. Probably many more but that’s enough to be going on with.
I am still praying for a proper Freelancer remake... that one let me experience the glorious space battles like in SW or Star Trek without having to have flight sim experience as for trains, tried Trainz waaaay back, then TS... but properly got into trains stuff with TSW... at first without safety stuff, but that got boring real quick... once I started learning safety stuff and signalling, it has become super engaging and I have stayed ever since
For me apart from train games it was always been some form of Car racing game and Lego Games. It became an annual tradition between myself and my former boss that we would gift each other the latest Lego game on the Wii for Christmas and see who could 100% complete it first (Him usually as he would play cooperative mode with his wife). In Terms of Car games, it was usually Gran Turismo. I have them all including the Prologues. But more recently it's been Forza Horizon. I got 4 fairly late and really enjoyed it. Then got 5 the day it came out and have played it regularly since - I'm only missing 3 cars and they were from weekly challenges where I was sick. Really looking forward to 6 with it being based in Japan. For trains, I started with Microsoft but quite casually. Then I got Trainz but didn't really enjoy it. Then finally picked up Railworks 3. I really started expanding my collection around TS2016 I think and hate to think how much I've spent on it! TSW is still just an enjoyable sideshow for me. It can't compete with the distances and variety of stock, but I've still got a couple of hundred hours played.
for me the deciding factors for TSW have always been timetable mode and general UI... like lets say you havent played the game for quite a while and forgot where controls in the cab are - in TS it takes forever for the labels of stuff to pop up, and you dont have walkable cab, so it takes ages to figure out where stuff is also the learning curve in TSW is more favorable now that we got the first Czech route in the game, hopefully it gains traction and we get more Czech and Slovak content, so I can drive some stock I can actually see around where I live and work... and hopefully we get more Austrian stuff in the future, I am hoping for something Vienna-centred
I suddenly realised we are actually discussing contemporary games rather than retro… my bad. So my current go to’s apart from TSW are: SimRail. Farming Simulator 25. The Saxlingham map remains addictive and the forthcoming Witcombe Park from OxygenDavid looks to be fantastic. ETS2 though not for a few weeks as it tends to get a bit samey. Maybe a lone voice but after all the hype, I wasn’t overly impressed with Nordic Horizons. Particularly in the far north it didn’t really capture the rugged feel - more like Montana - and due to politics left out the area of Karelia, Murmansk etc. that was in ProMods.. Snowrunner is another one I revisit from time to time. Problem is, so much content now it could take years of playing exclusively to finish them all to 100%. Some of the later maps are just designed to be stupid hard rather than interesting or challenging and of course most don’t really look like the areas they portray. An outsider I recently reinstalled was the remastered original Commsnd and Conquer. But it has been kicking my rear by Mission 4 or 5 on both the GDI and NOD campaigns so think I lost my touch! Train sim wise, TSC remains uninstalled as does Railroader. Run 8, I fire up occasionally but not in recent weeks.
I like both retro and new games, I just wanted to focus on what we play the most atm ... like I do play a lot TSW, obviously, cos the remasters and new Czech route, but I also do a lot of Elden Ring and Tainted Grail - that one has pretty neat combat, which I can appreciate as master of bonk ... those big hammers and swords sure do have an impact muahaha
And everything was made using the same set of assets. There's no mention of any resemblance to reality.
Up until a year or so ago, I did a huge amount of Fallout 4, trying for the various faction endings but then I just suddenly stopped. It tended to be a bit of a grind, particularly at the beginning when trying to decide what skills etc. to level up. Plus those wretched radiant missions for Preston Garvey, “Another settlement needs your help.”
my fourth playthrough of Elden Ring is like yeah I know whats ahead of me, but since I now use magic, I know I need to approach stuff in a much different way... so far it is fun
Red Dead Redemption 2. I just love fishing and hunting setting up camp for the night and enjoying the unbelievable beauty the world has to offer. At times I wish Beechers Hope was my real home. I’ve grown up with Mortal Kombat and this is where I got my username from “Mortal1234”. The best fighting game out there for sure. Or atleast it was… lately MK has been declining in quality sadly… I miss the 3D Era back in the PS2 days. I never did get to play MK - Shaolin Monks. I enjoy Minecraft for creating worlds. Quite therapeutic. ETS2 will soon be on the list when it decides to come to consoles. Another game that looks chill as hell.
I enjoyed the story modes of MK 9-11, and yes, 1 was a decline in quality, the story was too rushed... cant say more cos I didnt play em much I loved the new movie tho, and looking forward to the second one, with Noob Saibot, Shao Kahn, Johnny Cage and others
MK9 was amazing. It was so good. The roster. The music. The stages were so well designed and then you had that 300 Challenge tower. I broke my tv over that regretfully haha !! I got a bit too mad. Oops. Then they started to change it up after 9 and it started going a bit downhill I felt. X wasn’t too bad. It was decent but then 11 and 1 weren’t that great… The movie is looking really good. I’m looking forward to seeing it. Looks like they’ve went all out with the second one from what I’ve seen. Now that Paramount has bought WB Games it will be interesting to see what they do with MK moving forwards. It was either Paramount or Netflix. I just hope they take MK back to its roots.
my fav scene was, of course, the final "boss" fight when Scorpion's "spear" pierced Sub-Zero's hand, MK theme started playing, and the famous "GET OVER HERE!!!" happened, so epic ... the actor sold the character so well
Games on a similar level to how I got hooked on TSW would definitely have to be Skyrim, Fallout 4 and Fallout New Vegas (3 close but I would have to say not as high) fallout 4 I’ve had many many restarts over the years (same with Skyrim) I remember one save alone was about 30 days total of playtime. cities skylines probably coming up to that point aswell maybe but the game I’ve played the most would probably be Minecraft about 11 years ago I played that game over a period of about 6 years many times almost non stop for about 8 hours a day sometimes. A recent game what will likely join this list is Anno 117 it released in November and I’m over 200 hours of playtime on a single save.
Apart from the TSW series, I only have similar hours of gameplay in Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, as well as the Farming Simulator series, although admittedly, I haven't played Farming Simulator all that much recently. Aside from that, I usually play World of Warships every day. And although I play a variety of colony sims and automation games, the only one I find myself frequently returning to is Satisfactory. Not that I'm good at any of these games, you can usually find me playing the lower difficulties enjoying the game in a casual stress-free way.
I just finished up Robocop Rogue City, which was surprisingly good (that first fight with ED-209 can go pound sand, though!) I picked up Subway Sim recently, and apart from its little quirks is pretty fun. I've got the new Forza: Horizon on pre-order, and just wrapped up all my tasks on the previous title. Lately I've been in a bit of an RTS mood, and have been playing C&C Generals, Rimworld, and just started a new conquest campaign in Empire at War's Awakening of the Clone Wars mod. The Star Trek Armada mod for Sins of a Solar Empire is great as well (especially playing as the Borg).
My first experience of gaming was with the Amiga 600 and floppy disk games. Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 and 3 (aka Lotus RECS) were my go to games along with desert strike and a couple of others that I can't remember (I still have the A600 and the games we had). Then I was given a ZX Spectrum+ with the old tape games. When I upgraded to a Sega MegaDrive, I got hooked on Sonic and the Micro Machines games. Then came the generation that started things off for me, the PlayStation era. I was hooked on Gran Turismo, Colin McRae rally, TOCA touring cars and V Rally and even had a steering wheel and gearstick (which I actually used to help me learn to drive). There was also the original GTA games (GTA, GTA: London and GTA2) and Driver. I loved playing Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (mainly cos you could make him pass gas) but it was a really difficult game. The PS2 era introduced more racing games but also the excellent Timesplitters series as well as games like The Getaway, 24 and of course guitar hero. The multitap adaptor for the PS2 was a great addition meaning that you could have 4 controllers plugged in to just 1 port and could splitscreen play with friends. The PS3 brought games like Uncharted to my attention, GTA 5 also online multiplayer. PS4 brought Star Trek Online to consoles, the start of the Life is Strange game series and of course the TSW series. This was also the introduction of party chat for the PlayStations. I also own a PC so play quite a few simulator games on there including Train Sim Classic, ATS, ETS2 and others. I do own an XBox One but that was just for the Forza series and the Forza Horizons games which I started at FH3 and really liked FH4 due to it being set in a representation of the British Isles.
atm I am pretty hooked on Tainted Grail... and finally getting some better gear, so I am not getting squished by everything... except that nightstalking hulk called Wyrdspirit, who absolutely obliterates me atm... I mean, if I had like 100 health potions, I might survive the fight, but
It would have to be American/Euro Truck Simulator, SimRail and Minecraft. For truck simulator, I've become so hooked on it that I've actually started using Blender properly now in order to create mods for it. For SimRail, it's certainly scratched an itch for me as far as ETCS operations and variety of different things happening during a service that TSW hasn't gotten to yet. While minecraft, not sure how it happened but it's certainly fun exploring different horror mods at 2 AM.
Here's a list of games I remember having played exessively. As an example I played lots of GTA but not for a very long time (max 2 playthroughs or so) I only listed games I am sure I played over several years: *playing every other weekend when at my fathers place* - Ugh! (gifted by my cousin on a Floppy Disk! - Anno 1602 (First Game I bought myself) - Airline Tycoon - UEFA Manager - Flight Simulator 98 *brothers buy a used play station for a few bucks* - World Touring Cars *getting first own PC* - Microsoft Train Simulator - Need for Speed Porsche - Flight Simulator 2002 *buying first PC with own money* - Fussball Manager 2012 (played for 10 years) - Simutrans (best free game ever!) - CIV III (before steam) and CIV V (400 hours) - Skyrim (400 hours) - OMSI 2 (500 hours) - Euro Truck Simulator 2 (1400 hours) - TSW 5 (800 hours) *buying better PC in order to properly play TSW5* So with 800 hours in less than a year TSW5 is definitely my record game. TSW 6 has still less...
- Guilty Gear Strive - Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising - Street Fighter 6 I spend a lot of time playing in local tourneys. TSW helps me to relax, but the FGC pays my utility bills every month.
Real Racing 3. Sadly, it's dead now. I was sad when I lost access to Real Racing 2. Now I've lost Real Racing 3. I'm going to miss those races...
I am mostly arcade racer, loving games like Forza Horizon 4, Crew 2 and Motorsport, also last two NFS games were kinda decent... keyboard only ... never learned how to drive with controller (tried a steering wheel + pedals, but sucked ... at it lol)... and even those arcade racers I prefer to play singleplayer if I can be helped, cos I am not the best, I just want to enjoy the world and cool cars (loved what Crew Motorsport did with signing Donut Media and other car youtubers )
Like hordes of zombies, like blowing sxxx up? John Carpenters: Toxic Commandos. I already have the platinum trophy for it, but it’s a game I can’t seem to stop playing. Published by Focus Entertainment too.
Yeah, another good shout out I bought that game a few months ago, kind of wish I hadn’t though as it’s free on PS Plus Extra now.
great game tho... havent played it for some time, then resumed once I got SSD installed, which got the loading times from ages to pretty damn quick ... havent played the last update where they added Techmarine and a bunch of new stuff tho... been too busy with TSW, Tainted Grail, Elden Ring and occasional Ziggurat II as palate cleanser also got Monster Hunter World, BG III and Divinity Original Sin II going (and Remnant II... etc) going to play some Elden Ring today, currently on my 4th playthrough, this time as a bonk mage ... and planning to install Dark Souls III again and try an ultrabonk 2H shieldless run, using my skills from ER
No game series has ever had me hooked quite as much as the Yakuza games. After playing Yakuza 3 (which, ironically many considered to be the worst in the series) I actually started self-learning Japanese so I could import the Yakuza 4 game rather than wait on them confirming it would ever come to the West. Thankfully the series did gain traction over here and we've had all the releases. Not a big fan of the combat in the newer "Like a Dragon" games - much prefer the original rather than turn based so I have not really bothered with them, but regularly still play through the original Yakuza series - and they're still an absolute emotional Roller Coaster. The "Judgement" games produced by the same studio are superb as well.
I’ve played and platted all the Yakuza games on PlayStation, they never fail to disappoint. If I was to pick my favourites in the series it would be Yakuza 0, as we are introduced to a young Kiryu and Majima. Seeing Majima before he takes on the “Mad Dog” persona is funny too. He’s just a regular Joe without the brain damage lol. I’d then choose Yakuza 6 as I liked the idea of Kiryu becoming a grandad to Haruka’s kid (I forget his name). Always made me chuckle when you had those missions walking around town looking for baby formula, and QTE’s when you had to stop the baby from crying. I really liked the turn based combat personally as I’m old school when it comes to RPG’s, growning up with final fantasy on the PS1. It’s been proven that people like turn based combat, look at Clair obscur expedition wiping the floor last year with multiple game awards. I’m hoping the next main line Final Fantasy game returns to turn based combat.
The QTE's in Yakuza 6 when Kazuma is "adult dating" are absolutely hilarious too. I think it's that kind of craziness that just makes the game so appealing to me. One minute the plot is deadly serious and often emotional (still get a lump in my throat when the original Rikiya dies in Yakuza 3) and then next minute you're singing Karaoke, or wrestling grown men in nappies ! I can see why people do enjoy the turn based stuff, and the user reviews of the latest one speak volumes, they're just not my cup of tea unfortunately as I'd like to see the story through to Kazuma's end, so to speak. Maybe it's just because I'm rubbish at them, and gotten quite handy with the combat of the original Yakuza games. Majima is absolutely brilliant, like you say. I absolutely loved the Pirate Yakuza game too, although fans of the series didn't seem to like it quite so much. Only one I never really took to was "Dead Souls" but it seems to be worth quite a few £'s on sites like eBay so will maybe hold onto my copy for a bit longer and cash in. The studio's new game "Stranger than Heaven" looks like it could be a cracker too.
Yeah that’s what I love about the Yakuza games, they don’t always take themselves seriously. It’s just pure wackiness from start to finish. I think as the series has gone on the games have gotten easier, like when I think back to the OG Y3,4 and 5 those games how much content was included and what it asked of you when going for the platinum trophies. I know Platinum’s aren’t your thing, but just to give you a quick summary in Yakuza 3 & 4 the trophy for winning all mini-games involved you learning some Mahjong to understand how strong your opponents hands were and if you could counter them. I think for me the longest Yakuza game was Y5, I easily put in 300+ hours into that one back in the day. That’s coming from a trophy hunting though, the average joe could probably sink their teeth in to at least 100+ hours. As I’ve said the amount of content in those older titles was endless. I played Pirates a few months ago after the new year, another banger! It was giving me AC: Black Flag vibes with the ship combat, I really enjoyed that.
