Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

@Ravix You know you are a serious collector when you can look at that picture and know what those PS3 games are just from the spines, that's one of the reasons I love the PS3 library because the art trails from the front, to the spine, to the back. At the same time I like how clean the PS2 spines are, but yes I can tell what the majority of those PS3 games are. The fonts are recognizable too, you probably can too.

@Ravix Pesky Sony trying to make me think I've not played very many physical games and therefore won't miss them.

Jokes aside, it's odd that is about half of my physical games that has disappeared while the other half is fine. There must be some other characteristic that is defining why some are gone. It's been mentioned that having got some sort of DLC for said disc game may be a factor but I'm not seeing that from my list.

It all happened when some people were getting weird games on their lists they hadn't played. I never had that issue but when it all disappeared for about a day to fix that it was when it came back the problem arose. Whatever they did to amend that clearly changed other things as well. I'm not even sure if it's being looked at anymore.

EDIT: I've decided to make a separate thread for this to try and get more eyes on it and try and see if it affects everyone the same or not.

@GirlVersusGame I literally can't. But I can test you, if you want, as I do have the source image in a resolution that isn't lacking all the pixels, muhahaha. Since you said it I tried to guess one, and it wasn't what I thought. So heads up, the red one on the left isn't read dead (although that was a PS2, not PS3 case anyway)

@Ravix Top right Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 (those are really obvious) I see Saints Row 2, Demon's Souls, Mirror's Edge is the only half tone PS3 box I know in the EU catalogue, The Saboteur, Brink (obvious and awful, I saw no other case with that shade of blue) there's a bunch of Guitar Hero games, Home (something) Homeland? it was a game where Communists invade America (very Red Dawn) I played the story and just when I thought I'd finished the tutorial the credits rolled, it was ridiculously short, Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, that looks like Dead Space above both Fallouts. I think recognize so many because of all the collections PS3 is the one I spent real effort sorting in the correct order and playing too. Those top left with the white spine and the red and black would possibly be Just Cause, the one above that could be Red River (I forget the full name, military simulator) I want to grab them all and sort them from A to Z and colour code the spines, the OCD is strong with arrangement. I see Dead Island too, A Call of Duty one which could be 4, the one in the middle near the bottom looks an awful lot like the Dead Pool font, I think I see Band Hero too.

What game is the red one on the right and number six if you count from the bottom upwards? the tone of red I don't think I recognize but I want it for my collection. It could be the picture but I don't think I have any cases with with that tone. Are there PS4 games mixed in? I think I see Battlefield too, the one with the dark blue and orange box and the soldier etc. I think I see Bioshock on the left too, the logo is the right size and colour.

@GirlVersusGame fun game, but quite a few confidently wrong or in the wrong place 😛 You definitely got some in the right place though, so that itself is pretty impressive.

The Red to the right is actually RDR. The red on the left which I guessed was RDR was PS2 Ratchet and Clank up your arsenal or Ratchet Deadlocked? Which I've never even heard of. But it was PS2 so I wasn't even in the right console gen.

It actually is in alphabetical order, and it is a mix of ps3 and ps4 in those two rows. Left is ps2 only though.

Maybe this knowledge will help you in the next round to work out the final positions and tweak some answers.

@Ravix I have 20/20 vision so I better have gotten some right or I'll need to get a new set, it's mostly my memory that struggles, the chronic jet-lag is trying to creep up again but I'm being careful, lots of air, hydration and my bedtime was reduced too so no more gaming at night. But I'm not really gaming during the day either, still though it's the Summer, I'm sure lots of people aren't. Christmas your time seemed the most busy, it was the first time I started talking to people on here like normal people do but there wasn't much else to do because mine was January so that could be it too.

I'm happy with some of those guesses because I really do think PS3 (that generation) had some of the nicest spines and covers, they weren't afraid to use colour which is kind of ironic considering the games themselves used a lot of brown filters and tones. Perhaps it was a trend? or a limit of the console? like colour took up more memory and the colourful games were made by Sony themselves? and so they knew some secret tricks to really make their colours pop.

I've never played a Ratchet and Crank which is probably why that one got passed me by, but I'm sure it's colourful. I did try Spyro and Crash Bandicoot (died a lot) I never tried that little Astro guy either, considering he replaced Sackboy? the chances are even less that I will. Actually that's something that should be in that collection, Littlebigplanet. Is the Orange Box there too? That's the only bright orange spine I can think off. I think it was PS2 but I think I have it on PS3 too, I just remember Half Life and Portal being on the box. That's something PS3 did well, collections. I shared some on here before, how they bundled a franchise all on one disc, PS5 games are probably too big. They called those sets the HD Collection.

Red Faction Guerrilla had a similar colour I think but it feels like I have it twice so it must have been remastered. Brink is definitely one I'll never forget, I'm sure they knew the game was awful and used blu cepheus hoping it might catch someones eye. Lamborghini use the same blue on their Huracan and Murcialago. It could be a coincidence, but it was awful and when you know you have a bad product on your hands the next best thing is to try to make it pop visually to increase retail visibility, even borrowing well known tones associated with something that absolutely doesn't fail, except that the infotainment system in the Huracan is buggier than The Elder Scrolls.

I'm not kidding, it's all interlinked so when it glitches even the adaptive headlights go and the backup camera. Which is great if you can reverse without one, or even park manually but the camera is there for a reason in all cars. They had to recall that model multiple times over the onboard system, I broke one of my rules, to not talk about cars. The real question is are those games yours? or is it a popular meme? Was Saints Row 2 right? I can't think of any other game with that colour spine and a tiny logo, it was really small. I have the first one on Xbox and like most Xbox games I couldn't even tell you what colour it is or what the box looks like. I've mostly only collected up licensed Xbox games tied up into movies and they all went straight to storage.

Is Dante's Inferno there too? with the cardboard slip? If so it must have been squished in? was the red and black Just Cause? I can't remember how many they made but I did play the first one on PS2, I'm sure of that, there's a poster included. It's going to be weird and awful when things go digital, I don't find the PS5 generation/cases that interesting and really how many people are collecting retro? I see some people on here playing them but sometimes saying they are emulations so no disc? and then others saying how they only buy digital/etc so does that mean they don't hold onto their physical games from previous generations? probably not, I'm glad I put so much effort into collecting up all of those Sony demo CDs too, it really is an end of an era. People will forget what a new disc smells like, and don't pretend you don't sniff the discs because I'm sure everyone does. Is that yellow and black one Dying Light? The one above the red case looks like Warriors of Rock. When someone asks me 'so kat what did you do while your Partner was in meetings all day?' play what game do my eyes see through the pixelation, and honestly it was fun.

Animal time is always time well-spent, I'm glad you've been able to make time for 'em all. Makes me wish I could have a pet for myself. Perhaps some day!

Same. I fall back on inconsequential stuff (no offence to anything I'm currently playing, of course) or chip away at replays for trophies, if I manage to play anything at all. There's no way I'll be wearing my headset and immersing myself in a photo-realistic AAA blockbuster anytime soon, but as you say, it's nice to plan ahead for the autumn and winter months.

I'll have to look up those indie games you mentioned, especially Bear and Breakfast considering it's your third purchase! Never heard of it before, but that's high praise!

Yeah, aside from sharing the odd snapshot on here, my collection is very much for myself, so I know what you mean about feeling that connection. I live alone, so surrounding myself with games, movies, books and shelf clutter, all of which makes me smile, is important to me. Just walking into my lounge and looking around for a minute can help brighten a bad day.

No, I'm afraid Grand Theft Auto isn't my thing. I did have GTA: San Andreas on PS2 when I was at university, but I never finished it, and instead would just explore the map whilst listening to my own music. I also saw a friend play a little bit of GTA 4 on his Xbox360, but it didn't hold much interest. Still, having owned one of the games once means that I technically do contribute to the "I thought every gamer did" perception, so I applaud @Th3solution for managing to keep his hands clean all these years!

What about you? I'd imagine the new game lacking a physical copy might give you pause?

@Werehog Bear and Breakfast is fun but I buy multiple of many Indies, PS5, Steam, Switch. I see it like this, if a new game is perhaps sixty pounds and an Indie is twenty then if I buy multiples that studio receives the same amount for their work. It's the same for most Indies I've played so while it's a good game I need to clear-up why I use that method. It doesn't mean the game is highly brilliant, that's just how I go about supporting the genre. I didn't know you lived alone I thought you had a girlfriend or a boyfriend because you are generally very pleasant and there's definitely someone out there for everyone especially when you have all of those hobbies.

I've had some time to think about the no disc situation. It's really odd not wanting to play a new title like Grand Theft Auto but Rockstar have made it so easy for me to not want to play it, even if it were physical. I think the demographic for the series shifted once they realized the profits they could milk from GT Online and so much of it seems aimed at children. I'm sure the story won't be but the company itself doesn't have that kind of spark for me anymore. I'd change my tune if they announced a new Red Dead game. It's like Ubisoft, they have such great game IPs but they are doing nothing with them. I stopped buying Ubisoft games a couple of years ago, it doesn't help that they treat their employees so poorly either, greed like that isn't needed in the gaming industry and when it happens it makes boycotting that company very easy. I'm catching up on the last weeks news of gaming, none of it looks too pleasant but I'm glad people are giving Sony a piece of their minds. The rest I'm avoiding.

@Ravix I can't remember how long ago you asked about Grand Theft Auto 4. I forget what I was going to say and if I wrote it down I lost it but off the top of my head I think I didn't like it as much because mechanically it felt more wooden than the previous games, the vehicles felt heavier and didn't control well, the missions never stuck out to me (I remember only one) the friendship feature was just annoying (intended perhaps) the music was okay and like I said extra points for Vladivostok FM, it also suffered from the PS3 generation of brown saturated games but with that game it added a layer of depression to the overall feel and look of the game, the textures were quite wonky too. Things changed with the DLC, the stories were more memorable, characters less flat. I played the base game first then the DLCs, I definitely preferred the DLCs, Rockstar usually get that right. Undead Nightmare especially, though I was waiting forever for a specific horse to spawn, I never want to do that again. Imagine of Red Dead Redemption 2 had an similar DLC, with zombies etc, but with PS5 performance and visuals. Did you ever try the Bitterblack DLC for Dragon's Dogma after?

@BearsEatBeets I checked tonight and my missing games never returned, it looks like they are permanently gone. I still can't figure out what they were, I thought perhaps if I view my trophies on panaxgames and then scroll my games on a console at the same time, I can't think of any other way to do it. Thirty-five is a lot to vanish, I would have said ten, not three times that.

Edit: I tried and saw some of these missing: Tokyo Jungle, Way of The Hunter, Far Cry 6, Far Cry 5, Valhalla, Breakpoint, Wildlands, Demon's Souls (Remake) Sekiro, Death Stranding, Sega MegaDrive Collection, Hitman, Hitman 2, Stardew Valley (oh no) Hotline Miami, The Division, Dark Souls 2, Dark Souls 3, Sleeping Doggos, Both Metro games, Tomb Raider Definitive, Infamous Second Son, Thief. None of the PS3 ones are showing.

@GirlVersusGame I'm still leaning towards it will eventually get sorted than not but that does diminish the longer it goes on. I am starting to think that if they do start showing again the time stat might be wiped though. Some sort of acknowledgement from Sony that they are working on it would be nice though.

@GirlVersusGame I don't remember GTA 4 being brown/sepia, but maybe grey? I might just not pay attention to that stuff in my memories, however. I thought it was your second favourite, but you seem quite down on it now, so maybe GTA has fallen out of favour with you, for now. That poketpal pokemon thing with the base looks cool though, so enjoy 😄 you have a knack for the architecture so i'll check in to see how your base grows, for sure!

Oh, and here was the original image of those games. They aren't mine, no, hence me not being good at guessing what they were 😛 but you can see where you got some right and some... less so 😄

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F5l...

And @Th3Solution how is Saros going? I know we had a Ragnarok or DS2 date all planned, but the UK heatwave did come back with a vengeance, so you can probably finish Saros by the time i'm properly getting into any serious gaming again, anyway. I did finish most of 007, at least. I feel like I have one final mission/chapter to clear up (I thought I was already done but the story continued) but then I was met with a gunfight that seemed a bit overwhelming out of nowhere so I'll give it a rest for a while and take it on with a fresh approach (it might not have to be an all-out gunfight) some time, preferably when it isn't Miami temperatures without Miami infrastructure or mandated air-con. And yeah, the roads are literally melting here, for pity's sake 🤷‍♂️😭😂 so, yeah... you get the idea of what we have to deal with 😬

@Ravix That's nice of you to say and you are absolutely right building is one of my favorite things about survival games, they aren't just aesthetically challenging they have to function too. Most people don't know it but Palworld does have a raiding system meaning being able to defend your base is really important. Of al survival games I've played across console and PC this one is the most forgiving and really does respect your time. I'm definitely in the minority of people who've never played or watched Pokemon and I think that really does help to find the game so unique, most people playing it will frequently be seeing Pals and thinking 'that looks like such a Mon'. I tried also Starwars Outlaws recently, it was really good but I had motion sickness and had to stop, my friend looked and found a lot of threads about the same thing. For The King 2 was also fun but good or not very few games can pull me away from this game/update. It's doing really well on Steam, lots of people who were waiting finally went for it. I've put about five-hours into this new playthrough, mainly to build the basic frame and layout of my little ranch-house. It's been fun starting with nothing again, what have you been playing? Black Flag?

Here's a small preview of my starter-base so far, it's a lot smaller than my usual builds but it will handle food/wood/stone production easily. If it looks like a Japanese kabuto? That's intentional. It's in the middle plateau between two waterfalls so my Pals can play in the lagoon and it's good for defenses too. Though soon I'll put down sandbags and sheep with light machineguns. I haven't even unlocked stone yet, I literally just started chopping trees and started building. It's such a beautiful game, hopefully more people will give it a try now that it's more complete and packed with new content.

It looks like they increased render distance on bases too, I can see the roof of my home off in the distance. That fox guy is a Foxparks. I have a harness that let's me carry him like a flamethrower, he's my travel buddy tonight.

That was quick, we randomly bumped into our first boss in the wild.

@GirlVersusGame I still don't really understand the game, but you make it seem incredibly chill, cute and a fun time. Honestly, it is quite genuinely delightful to see how happy it makes you. And yes, already that base is looking amazing, you have a great eye for that stuff.

I would also be drawn to pupper and foxy if I played 😁 argh, you are kind of making me want to revert to a child-like state just to enjoy some simple gaming like this, but I know for a fact I don't do well with games with addictive gameplay loops and building and it might be a rabbit hole I find hard to escape from.

P.s is there a rabbit that is also a Mortar (even saying it makes me want to play, because that just sounds mad) or would that be a Tortoise so it could... shell its enemies? 😁😁😁

@Ravix I kind of forget that people on here are Adults with professions and responsibilities, it could be because gaming is seen as immature to some People? offline for me at least that's the case. I'm not sure but it takes a situation like Werehog mentioning university for me to remember, so when you say 'you are kind of making me want to revert to a child-like state just to enjoy some simple gaming like this' that's technically my default thinking/way of life in all things. It's probably obvious from months of us talking back and forth but I don't think I've ever had responsibilities before so that weight isn't there. Instead responsibility becomes keeping my Pals happy but that's digital and it's easier to identify with them than people and in a way it perfectly blends into my offline too. I've spent the last couple of weeks around a lot more animals, it's nicer and they appreciate the tending.

I suppose I never thought of it before but quite a lot of gamers play very serious games like Saros, God of War, Horror games and so on. It's a different kind of escapism, they enter the shoes of a character and temporarily shift some of that real life responsibility and get lost in that pre-made adventure. Whereas I do it the other way around and look for those more demanding/micromanaged systems and simulators. It's still the same hobby just a different approach which then offers a different perspective. It's worth picking up if you are curious, there are almost eight-hundred thousand people playing it on Steam right now, that update really pushed it's popularity and the Developers even decided to leave the price as is. Which wasn't the original plan, this much interest means even more future updates, and perhaps it does offer a much needed softer side to escapism while the world/etc outside goes a little more crazy which I assume is still happening, I have no idea.

I think games like Palworld prove that things don't always have to be so serious to succeed and like I said the gathering/crafting side is such much easier with automation. I've been standing here in my base replying to various threads and listening to music while my Pals farm tomatoes/wheat/berries, mine from an infinite ore node, gather lumber from an infinite node, water the crops, transport materials around and pretty much do their thing. When they get tired they jump into one of the hot-springs I've provided or a comfortable bed. In that sense it's very chill as you said, and I have a penguin who's job it is to keep my meals and dishes refrigerated so chill fits.

Does a chainsaw count?

That's Digitoise, I'm looking for one at the moment. He tears through ore nodes, perfect for grabbing sulfur in dungeons, I need sulfur for gunpowder. I have a musket but I need an assault rifle. I'll probably build a separate base in a higher level area and make that my arms manufacturing hub. It's like they say if you are wanting to live in peace you must first prepare for war.

What have you been playing if anything? I'm assuming England is having similar weather, though recently I was in 50°C which was a record for the year. I've seen in Europe people not gaming when it gets hot because they think the console will explode. I've run them all in 40°C without any issues. I think a lot of it is 'what if', I've only had a console shutdown because the Developer left a memory leak in, never from actual heat. I tend to not really feel the heat though, Those around me are 'this humidity is too high how are you not dying?' and I'm just not feeling it, I think I naturally run cold. Or it's a natural insulation thing and I have none.

The before and after, he was depressed so I picked him up and threw him into the hot-tub, instant happiness.

@GirlVersusGame don't overthink it 🙂 gaming is gaming, it doesn't matter about any other reasoning or justifications. I just know I can sometimes get a little too addicted to some types of games (Crusader Kings III, for example)

I played Thank Goodness You're Here a few weeks ago, that was a good silly game that is just about being fun and silly. Your Palworld posts are reminding me of BugSnax, in a way, too, but there was no base building or potential for me to be drawn into routine/management aspects in that. But it was funny little people with various food appendages, and it was just fun for the sake of fun. And sometimes I think I should play more games like that because why not?

That bunny is amazing 😭 stop with the making me jealous of your game (don't stop, as I want to read/see your updates in future)

I'm very on and off with games, so I played 007 only a few times last week or more ago? I have nearly finished that, though. And since then only a few games of simulated football because social gaming/dopamine hits/banter etc. It's like low effort shut the brain off type gaming, but also mildly competitive. It usually descends into trying to make people laugh doing silly sh**, too. We have like an unspoken/telekinetic bond of when it is time to go on the wind-up 😂 it is probably the most common british thing. The game is full of genuine... expletives and trolls... and we have a group of people that are like the opposite and enjoy when we can annoy those type of people with our anti-trolling. It's hard to explain 😁 plus we are half decent at the game, which helps.

That's a very admirable and generous approach! Nevertheless, I did look up Bear & Breakfast and saw that it had very positive user scores, and thought it looked delightful (and very much your kinda thing, from what you've shared of your tastes) so I've added it to my wishlist. It's not my standard fare, but I like to try and shake things up every now and again. If and when I pull the trigger, I'll let you know!

Thank you for the compliment, that's real kind of you to say! Just to clarify, despite living alone, I do have a partner, going on... blimey, over twelve years now. We just live separately, s'all.

I agree with everything you said in that last paragraph, but I wanted to highlight that one particular point I put in bold, as it's the red line for me and my aversion to the GTA series. What started out as parody has been twisted into something aspirational, all in the pursuit of live-service profits. It's insidious, and while I'm not pro-censorship in the broadest sense, I do believe creators share as much responsibility as parents when it comes to these sorts of things.

Gaming news has been particularly grim these past couple weeks, and it's coincided with a period where I have been unable to play anything anyway. I'm hopeful that, once my schedule clears and the weather cools down, I'll be able to remind myself of why I love gaming. We'll get there!

We don't seem to have a general Star Wars thread so I'll plonk this here for anyone else interested in this game

This could be great if they successfully merge these game systems.

@GirlVersusGame "Moods are easy to manage, good food, hot-tubs, some pettings, a little murder, their needs aren't much." Ah. The simple Pleasures. But ahh! Please, stop 🫢 You know too well how to sneak things into your words that are both pleasing to read and funny to me. And also that is like the basis of a twisted romantic novel/movie/tale and you're going to draw out my weird side with that stuff 👀

It does really sound like a fun game, and super accessible, as well as very more-ish, and you seem to be getting a lot out of it which is most important 😄 and yeah, the creativity continues, so i'll happily have a nosey at any new bases you build. I still know if I installed it i'd be up at 5am tweaking architecture, furniture arrangements and defensive positions and being disappointed at being far less good at making things fit perfectly while digital base building. (Fallout 4 flashbacks ensue 😰) but eeeee it does seem tempting to experience what it is like.

Ooh, I moved my response to chit chat for ease of finding follow up chat, btw.

And also because of that I can now waffle and hit you with a: watch 'The Guest' as it's been a while. And you maybe have recovered from Drive by now? 😄 that said, it is a good Haloween adjacent movie, so I can say it again in October if you like 😛

I feel like it might be time for a Wild At Heart rewatch myself, and that fits more into the themes of petting and murder you seem adamant to push on me 😛 I don't recall if there is hot tubs, but definitely hotel rooms, so maybe.

@GirlVersusGame oh, you're confusing me again 😭 but it's okay, it is my problem.

Oh, with pal world I was only using child-like to refer to the type of way I/people react to games, and like the general state that some games help us (all) achieve, like in reference to letting go and just enjoying the fun thing for being the fun thing. That is the type of game it seems to be, and something I should probably make more time for, as I know I do enjoy that feeling of just letting go and enjoying stuff (I can still recall some of the silly music from BugSnax for example, that was fun. And my time spent as a Cat in Stray is an experience i'll always cherish. And recently Thank Goodness You're Here was just silly, northern, slapstick fun. I got a trophy for randomly slapping a burger van vendors bottom, for example 🤷‍♂️😂) And it is good that you can do that with these games, like Pal World, too 😄 it is good for the soul! And that skyscraper is going to be Epic, yes?

Did you always feel that way with open-world games? Like Skyrim is one of your favourites. And the fallout games are also open world. I know you said how KCD was a little different as it wasn't that densely populated, and the audio was quite calming, baa goes the sheeps etc so it isn't hugely intimidating, until you get jumped by bandits, I suppose. I guess Skyrim and Fallout can kind of feel that way too? And even RDR because it is more out in nature than a densely populated world.

As for The Guest, I may as well ask what your favourite horror movies are, as i'm pretty sure you are an avid horror enjoyer? But if you can watch horror movies with similar stylisitc qualities, I think you will be fine with it. And whilst it is not horror itself it does use inspirations from such movies that are quite obvious (which is partly why I think you will find it interesting, FuriousMachine, and many others here, too). But yeah, it did stand out to me as one that uses it's audio to create an atmosphere and I only really noticed it being so dynamic after you spoke of how you perceived Drive. And I always had paired those two movies as feeling kind of similar despite being vastly different in terms of plot. A fairly silent and calmly spoken 'protagonist' is another similarity, though, which contrasts well with the stand-out audio design.

I fear this conversation may descend into one where we both don't understand each other, but it is still worth having, I think 😄

@BearsEatBeets Thanks for sharing! I'm not a huge Star Wars fan but love the XCOM games and this has great potential.